Lionel Messi would love to win an MLS title. But he definitely doesn’t need to

Lionel Messi has won almost everything there is to win in world football, both at international and club level.

So it's surprising that one of the trophies that claims to be the easiest to win, the MLS Cup, is one that hints at a global star following an early-round exit in the MLS Playoffs to Inter Miami last month. is.

It's not that Messi didn't do what was necessary to move the team forward. In a season shortened to 22 games due to injury, he finished the season with 21 goals and 17 assists.

It was a season for him as he was named to MLS' best eleven on Tuesday and was named a finalist for league MVP. He was also a key figure in Miami's rise from essentially a last-place team in the Eastern Conference to a class team led by a 37-year-old wandering wizard.

Messi, who will return to Miami for another year, will not only chase the 2025 MLS Cup title, but also lead Inter as a CONCACAF representative at next summer's FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

What's even more incredible is that the man who has won almost every victory in world football once famously speculated that it was impossible.

Messi said, “Sometimes you have to accept that you can't always win,'' adding, “There are more important things in life than winning or losing matches.''

there's nothing to prove

Messi is perhaps the greatest player of a generation or two. Gen Z will have access to all the clips from his formative and breakthrough years at Barcelona, ​​one of the matches that saw him win the FIFA World Player of the Year award a record-breaking six times. .

Messi has won the award a total of eight times and has won this award for four years in a row, in addition to having won 45 different club trophies, namely two UEFA Champions League titles.

Photo by Mark Atkins/Getty Images

The past two years with his native Argentina have arguably been his best in the uniform. La Albicelestewon the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, followed by Argentina's victory over Colombia in the 2024 Copa America this summer.

He scored over 800 goals in a career that began in Argentina in 1995. However, he rose to prominence after moving to Barcelona in 2000 as a member of Barcelona's youth academy at the age of 13, winning his first Ballon d'Or title just five years after joining Barça's first team, aged just 22. .

Fans of Messi and Inter Miami will know how much it means to him to win a major title with an MLS club – the MLS Supporter's Award is given to the team that finishes Inter's best regular season this year. -He was quite elated when he won the shield.

But to quote Messi's other memorable quote, if it doesn't happen, before he makes the decision to end his illustrious career, then so be it. It will be done.

“I prefer winning titles with the team rather than individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else,” he said during the match. The latest Ballon d'Or award will be in 2023.. “I'm more concerned about being a good human being than being the best soccer player in the world. When this is all over, what will you have left? When I retire, I'll remember being a decent human being. I hope you stay.”