What is certain is that the Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has never played in a worse team than he does now.
To be fair: It’s not exactly the boldest prediction in the world, given the level he played at during his time in Europe. – Also, I’m not known to be out of enthusiasm for MLS which has a “Pay to Play” system that in my opinion kills football. The United States is also decades behind Europe and its neighbors to the south in terms of football culture, interest and level.
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Not once did Barcelona finish lower than third during Messi’s years. At its best, the club finished in the top two for 11 consecutive seasons – winning La Liga in eight of them.
Admittedly, Barca were miserable last season. They lived with the consequences of the disastrous recruitment under Josep Maria Bartomeu. Sergiño Dest, Óscar Mingueza, Martin Braithwaite – they were obviously not on the same level. Yet, at the very lowest point, Messi’s Barcelona finished third in the league, reached the knockout stages of the Champions League and won the Copa del Rey.
From Paris to Miami
There has recently been an in-depth review of the Messi-Mbappé-Neymar era at PSG. Their disappointing early exit in Europe looks even worse in light of the club’s later performances under Luis Enrique. But even then, it was far from crisis – after all, they were cruising to two straight Ligue 1 titles. (PSG finished second behind Lille the season before Messi arrived.)
There have also been some pretty weak Argentine teams along the way. Consider the dysfunctional team under Jorge Sampaoli, which was torn to shreds by Croatia and France during the 2018 World Cup. But even that team scored three goals against the eventual champions – boasting world-class players like Ángel Di María and Sergio Agüero.
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Magic in Miami – but collapse this year
When Messi arrived at Inter Miami, the MLS club looked hopeless. They were last in the table when the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner arrived in the summer of 2023. Still, fresh from lifting the World Cup, he inspired a mediocre and limited team to the League Cup. The club’s very first trophy ever.
His first full season in the United States ended with the Supporters’ Shield (awarded to the team with the best regular season). Year two brought the MLS Cup and victory over Porto in the club final – the first time in history that an MLS club won a competitive match against European opposition.
But since Messi tore up Major League Soccer in 2025, things have been going downhill quickly. He still delivers – averaging one goal every 122 minutes – and is well in the running to become the first player in MLS history to retain the Golden Boot.
In Saturday’s Florida derby against Orlando City, things looked bright. Messi recorded his first assist of the season to make it 2-0. Then he combined with old friend Luis Suárez and increased to 3-0 before half-time.
The goal was classic Messi: quick footwork, shots from outside the box. Change the colors of the shirt, and it could just as easily have been 2009. Or 2015. Or 2022.
“Unacceptable”
Inter Miami seemed to be cruising towards a comfortable victory. But Orlando – a team that is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and has yet to get Antoine Griezmann into the ranks – responded with a four-goal recovery to win 4-3.
“Our captain spoke. Of course, he gave us a lot of words,” defender Ian Fray told reporters after the game.
“He encouraged us for the next game and said that this is unacceptable. We all agreed with him. It is unacceptable, and it will certainly not happen again.
Never seen before
Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets retired at the end of last season. Javier Mascherano stepped down as manager amid the club’s unconvincing start to 2026. They still have compatriot Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suárez. But as a collective, it just doesn’t work.
Inter Miami are third in the Western Conference, but they have won fewer than half of their games. Messi has recorded 26 key passes in MLS this season – the last pass before a teammate shoots towards goal. Only three players have more.
However, it took until his tenth game before one of those passes turned into a goal – and Messi recorded an assist.
So the question arises, after their remarkable collapse against Orlando: Has anyone such a good player ever played for such a bad team before?
