SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2026
Lionel Messi buried his Argentina career on Tuesday night with a goal and two assists in front of more than 85,000 people at the Estadio Monumental. On Friday morning, he was back on the Inter Miami training ground, running a ball-recovery drill next to Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul under head coach Cristian "Kily" González, according to footage shared by the club and reported by Pasión Fútbol. Tonight, 7:30 PM ET at Nu Stadium, the pink shirt is back on and the real season starts again.
Because here's the thing nobody's saying out loud: the defending MLS Cup champions have forgotten how to win. Inter Miami is winless in five straight league games, and the title defense that looked inevitable in August is starting to feel like a coin flip.
The slump is real, and it's ugly
Let's be specific, because the numbers are rough. After a 7-1 thrashing of CF Montréal that looked like a statement, Miami drew four straight — Atlanta United, Chicago Fire, Nashville, San Diego — and then lost 2-1 at Columbus Crew going into the break. That's five league games without a win, only one league victory since the start of August, and 21 points dropped in that stretch, according to the 101 Great Goals match preview.
The frustrating part, as that same preview lays out, is how many of those points were thrown away from winning positions. Miami has dropped eight points at home since August in games they were leading in the second half, and their last three home league matches have all finished 2-2. They've slipped to third in the Eastern Conference on goal difference, just a point ahead of Chicago in fourth, with Nashville sitting top on 60 points, per the standings cited by Pasión Fútbol. The Herons have 46 points from 27 matches — and a month left to figure out who they are.
But Messi, personally, is on fire
If there's a parachute on this plane, it's the 39-year-old. Messi scored in four straight competitive games for Miami before the break, per 101 Great Goals, and he walks into tonight with a league-best 21 goals and 13 assists, according to MLSsoccer's official Matchday 29 preview — which has him hunting a historic third straight Landon Donovan MLS MVP award. The Associated Press match preview, via Novex News, credits him with 22 goals to lead the club's scoring charts on a team that's scored 64 league goals.
And then there's what he just did in Buenos Aires. A corner delivery for Nicolás Otamendi's opener in the 48th minute. A feed for Nico Paz's strike in the 61st. A penalty blasted into the top corner in the 71st after Tamimou Ouorou's challenge on Agustín Giay. Goal, two assists, 3-0 over Benin, a sold-out Monumental, a drone show after the whistle, and a tenth-minute standing ovation that stopped the match cold. He finishes with 208 caps and 126 goals — Argentina's record appearance-maker and record scorer, per Reuters.
"I swear to you that I'd like to come back for life, because playing for the Argentina national team is the most wonderful thing that can happen to you," Messi told the crowd in quotes reported by the Argentine Football Association and carried by Sky Sports and The Times. His coach of the last several years, Lionel Scaloni, put it this way, per Sky Sports: "It's been a dream come true. I never thought I'd be the coach of the best footballer in history."
DC United is desperate — and that's the problem
Tonight's opponent isn't showing up to be a farewell-party prop. René Weiler's D.C. United sits 11th in the East on 30 points, three points below the playoff line with eight games left, per 101 Great Goals — at risk of missing the postseason for a seventh straight season. They've won just once in their last nine regular-season games, but they showed fight in a 3-3 draw at Vancouver last time out, with summer signing Kimito Nono scoring twice and captain Lucas Bartlett adding the third.
MLSsoccer's preview flags top scorer Tai Baribo (14 goals) as the danger man, and notes D.C. is coming off an encouraging result against Western Conference leaders Vancouver. Desperate teams in October are the ones that ruin your season — ask anyone who's bet against them. Miami cannot afford to find out the hard way.
The long game: Messi isn't going anywhere
While the short term is about tonight, the club is already thinking years ahead. Messi's contract runs through the end of the 2028 MLS season, and according to a World Soccer Talk report from October 8, Inter Miami's ownership wants the relationship to outlast the playing days entirely — with managing owner and CEO Jorge Mas treating the Messi project as a $70-80 million-per-year investment, and club president of business operations Xavier Asensi openly contemplating a scenario where Messi becomes part of the ownership group once he stops playing.
BBC Sport previously reported that Messi's agreement includes a pathway to receive a minority stake in the team after his playing career ends — and that he prefers the idea of owning a club to coaching one, per that same World Soccer Talk report. Nothing is signed on a longer horizon like 2030 yet; for now, as the report notes, the immediate focus is the field, starting with D.C. United tonight.
Our full account of the Argentina farewell has the night in detail, and the tributes from Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Neymar show how the football world reacted. Tonight is the next chapter.
Miami winless in 5 league games (4 draws, 1 defeat); 3rd in East, 46 pts from 27; last 3 home matches all 2-2. League-best 21g/13a per MLSsoccer; scored in 4 straight before break; 208 caps, 126 goals for Argentina. 11th in East, 30 pts, 3 below playoff line; Baribo leads with 14 goals; 3-3 at Vancouver last out.
