Inter Miami's key to Club World Cup success? Rest Messi in MLS

Throughout the 2024 Major League Soccer season, Inter Miami skipper Lionel Messi played successful a specified 55% of disposable games. Still, contempt his constricted information successful a pinkish jersey, Messi led the nine to the Supporters' Shield and an MLS points record, and helium was named the league MVP.

To bash that, Messi conscionable needed 19 games (or 1,485 minutes) to beryllium himself past play with 20 goals and 16 assists.

Then-Inter Miami manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino had rapidly realized the squad could remainder 37-year-old Messi erstwhile indispensable and inactive suffice for the astir important facet of MLS: the postseason. According to ESPN Research, teams historically person needed to triumph lone astir a 3rd of their regular-season matches to suffice for the playoffs. With caller caput manager Javier Mascherano astatine the helm, Messi's engagement with Inter Miami follows a akin pattern.

"The MLS play allows you to neglect successful definite games -- the knockout signifier of a continental league doesn't; it means you're out," Mascherano said earlier this season, referring to Concacaf Champions Cup. "But the CCC playoffs hole you for what's coming successful October with the playoffs. In the end, the MLS is simply a agelong play that yet boils down to a continental cupful wherever knockout phases are the norm, and successful the end, you can't fail."

As Miami prepares for the Club World Cup, which starts Saturday, the nine has been redeeming its champion subordinate for erstwhile it really needs him.

Winning arsenic galore games arsenic imaginable isn't indispensable for a palmy play for an MLS team. It's astir winning the close games. The Club World Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup are knockout games successful which Inter Miami makes definite to play Messi if they can. The MLS playoffs are, too.

But the MLS regular season? Not truthful much. Unlike Messi's erstwhile leagues LaLiga and Ligue 1, accordant occurrence passim the play and archetypal spot successful the array does not equate to the trophy successful MLS. Instead, the U.S. league features a playoff strategy successful which the apical 7 teams from 2 divisions astatine the extremity of the regular play straight suffice for the postseason tournament.

In the recently revised MLS rules, slots 8 and 9 connected each league array vie successful a one-game bid for the past spot successful the playoffs. Each league has 15 teams, which means much than fractional of teams successful MLS marque the postseason.

In the past 2 years, teams that accumulated betwixt 40-45 points passim the play managed to suffice to the playoffs arsenic the past seeds. In 2024, CF Montreal secured eighth spot with conscionable 43 points successful 34 games portion Atlanta United narrowly bushed retired D.C. United for ninth spot with 40 points.

As Mascherano says, the format is forgiving, arsenic teams tin suffer a fig of matches without negatively impacting their chances to marque playoffs, the archetypal barroom to wide for occurrence successful MLS. Though Atlanta United stood arsenic the past squad to suffice to the postseason with a 10-10-14 (W-D-L) grounds successful 2024, the squad went connected to destruct Miami, the Eastern Conference leaders and Supporters' Shield winners successful the archetypal round.

The league incentivizes teams to reason the regular play successful the archetypal slots of the array to unafraid home-field vantage and combat for the Supporters' Shield, but erstwhile they suffice for the playoffs, thing tin happen.

In 2023, fans saw Martino remainder Messi for inconsequential matches, keeping him successful reserve for erstwhile they needed him. Down the agelong of 10 oregon truthful games earlier the playoffs, helium missed 25% of his disposable MLS regular-season matches not owed to injury, but conscionable truthful helium could rest.

Toward the extremity of the 2024 MLS campaign, Martino near Messi retired of the starting 11 successful the 2 games starring up to the playoffs. Again, it wasn't for wounded but to remainder him due to the fact that Miami had already secured a spot successful the playoffs. He played a combined 65 minutes passim those 2 matches, redeeming vigor portion maintaining a indispensable bushed for the first-round playoff bid against Atlanta United, wherever Messi featured each 270 minutes -- and Miami inactive mislaid successful an upset.

"We made the determination connected Friday to remainder the players. It made consciousness aft 2 afloat games that we made immoderate rotations, and we had players acceptable to go," Martino said earlier the playoffs. "We were capable to implicit our 2 objectives. One was to springiness players immoderate remainder and besides to triumph the crippled due to the fact that of what it means from a motivational standpoint to beryllium successful presumption to interruption the points record."

And now, successful 2025, the signifier continues. Per ESPN Research, Messi has played 73% of the disposable minutes with Inter Miami successful MLS this season, compared with 86% of the minutes played successful the Concacaf Champions Cup this season, including added time. He has featured much since mid-May, but that was intended to get him up to lucifer fittingness fixed their elimination from the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Inter Miami kicked disconnected the 2025 run juggling MLS and the Concacaf Champions Cup, playing 1 crippled each 3 days successful planetary destinations. The squad rapidly transitioned from the offseason into 2 demanding competitions, forcing the nine to change the grooming docket to accommodate the immense magnitude of playing time. Although Mascherano insists that Messi is accustomed to playing nether specified demands aft doing truthful for astir of his career, fatigue and load absorption erstwhile again began to creep into the conversation.

After qualifying for the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals for the archetypal clip successful nine history, the squad had a docket crunch: Vancouver successful Canada connected April 24, FC Dallas astatine Chase Stadium successful Fort Lauderdale connected April 26 and yet the second-leg CCC lucifer against the Whitecaps connected April 30.

The squad and Mascherano entered the week with a plan, reverting to the strategy seen successful 2024 erstwhile Miami prioritized planetary contention and rested Messi altogether. The skipper played the afloat 90 minutes of the archetypal limb against Vancouver earlier earning a break. He past missed the grooming starring up to the crippled vs. Dallas, with Mascherano citing fatigue: "Messi ended the [first-leg] crippled [against Vancouver] well. Obviously helium was fatigued. Playing connected synthetic writer tin marque a subordinate adjacent much fatigued owed to the floor."

Messi sat retired the regular-season MLS lucifer against Dallas entirely. Miami mislaid 4-3 earlier returning to enactment erstwhile hosting the Whitecaps for the 2nd leg.

"Obviously we decided, similar galore of his teammates, to reserve him aft the crippled against Vancouver wherever we had to question for six to 7 hours and play connected synthetic grass," Mascherano said aft the Dallas match. "But he's good; helium trained today, truthful he's acceptable [for the 2nd limb against Vancouver successful the CCC]."

Messi besides sat retired 3 matches successful March to forestall fatigue arsenic the aboriginal stages of the Concacaf Champions Cup approached. He watched arsenic Inter Miami won 2 regular-season MLS matches and the Concacaf Champions Cup first-leg round-of-16 lucifer without him.

At the time, Mascherano cited load absorption arsenic the crushed for resting Messi arsenic helium explained the squad aimed to forestall immoderate benignant of fatigue arsenic the aboriginal stages of the planetary tourney rapidly approached.

"Since we privation to instrumentality attraction of him and we don't privation to marque him consciousness fatigued, we decided to springiness him rest, knowing the risks we're facing," Mascherano said to the media connected March 6. "Obviously, not having the champion subordinate successful the satellite is complicated."

At 37 years old, Messi has managed to accommodate his method connected the tract and make a grooming authorities disconnected the tract to support playing astatine a precocious level. But arsenic helium said himself past year: "Rest is precise important nowadays. As we get older, everything is much difficult."

"I cognize that arsenic soon arsenic I judge that I tin nary longer perform, oregon nary longer bask the game, oregon americium not capable to assistance my teammates, past I volition stop," Messi said.

Rest and skipping less important MLS games has been the cardinal for Messi to assistance his teammates erstwhile it counts. When the Club World Cup starts, a akin signifier whitethorn look then, too.