Moments of tension, including a massive brawl, were the images left by the Leagues Cup final where Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami lost 3-0, with several former Barcelona players standing out for their negative behavior.

Sergi Busquets throwing punches in the melee

The former Blaugrana midfielder was seen in the thick of the altercation between players from both teams. Initially, Busquets can be seen throwing a punch at a player, then turning to do the same to a member of the staff.

The brawl between Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders

Inter Miami may end the season without titles

Inter Miami’s loss to the Seattle Sounders in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday snatched away their second-to-last chance to lift a title in the 2025 season. After being eliminated in April from the Concacaf Champions Cup, “Las Garzas” must now fully commit to the MLS to avoid ending the year empty-handed.

Aside from the FIFA Club World Cup, where Inter Miami reached the round of 16 before falling 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain, the team’s season has been marked by inconsistency in the MLS, an over-reliance on Messi, and a lack of results in key moments in both the Concachampions and the 2025 Leagues Cup.

Inter Miami’s defensive fragility in the MLS

Before the loss to the Sounders, the pink-clad team had already been knocked out in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals by the Vancouver Whitecaps (5-1 aggregate). Even Messi’s presence in both matches wasn’t enough to prevent elimination.

In the 2025 MLS season, Inter Miami currently sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 11 points behind the leader but with four games in hand. Their chances for the MLS Supporters’ Shield remain alive, but their defense has been their Achilles’ heel: every loss has come with three or more goals conceded, reflecting a lack of defensive reliability.

“We depend on all our teammates, not just Messi, Busquets, Alba, De Paul, or Suárez,” Luis Suárez recently stated, emphasizing the need for a collective effort.

Messi and Suárez, offensive leaders with physical concerns

While Messi continues to perform at a high level and is a candidate for MLS MVP, his absences due to injury have exposed the team’s lack of solutions without him. Luis Suárez, his natural partner in attack, has struggled with knee issues, alternating standout performances (like his brace against Tigres in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals) with quieter ones.

The arrival of Rodrigo De Paul and the presence of Sergio Busquets have added quality in midfield creation, but it wasn’t enough to win the Leagues Cup or address the inconsistency in the MLS.

Mascherano in charge: continuity with doubts

Coach Javier Mascherano replaced Gerardo “Tata” Martino after a 2024 season in which Inter Miami won the MLS Supporters’ Shield, though without international success. Under Mascherano, the team has gone further in all competitions, but the lack of consistency in the MLS marks a step back compared to the previous cycle.

In 2023, under Martino, Inter Miami won its first official title: the 2023 Leagues Cup, a milestone that still looms large in the club’s memory.

All or nothing in the 2025 MLS

With the Leagues Cup lost and the Concachampions already in the past, Inter Miami relies solely on the MLS Supporters’ Shield or the MLS Cup in the playoffs to avoid closing their first season without a title since 2022, the last year before Lionel Messi’s arrival.