Misery in Miami: MLS flops Inter need serious surgery around Lionel Messi to avoid more play-off embarrassment in 2025

For all of the good Messi has brought to Miami, it must be said that he probably could have done more when it came to the crunch. The Argentine was quiet for most of the Atlanta series, which follows a pattern from throughout his carer when it comes to knockout football.

Yes, Messi got on the scoresheet, nodding home the equaliser in the Game Three loss. Otherwise, Messi had few real chances against Atlanta. He found himself forced into deeper areas, receiving the ball far from goal. When he did get close to the penalty area, Atlanta simply crowded him out.

A couple of free-kicks hit the wall. One or two nice dribbles were cut short by smart fouls and timely tackles. There was no magic to be found, no last-second winner, no no-look pass. More than anything, this was all due to good defending. Atlanta had a plan, executed it well, and ensured that the best player to ever kick a football didn't have a sniff.

But we have become so used to Messi working miracles, it basically feels like a disappointment when he doesn't.

Big-picture, this doesn't mean much for Messi's career narrative. The Argentine, in truth, could have retired after the 2022 World Cup, and few would have begrudged him. After all, with that trophy, he completed football. There is nothing more left for him to win, no further accolades needed to cement his legacy. No one seemed to care when he left Paris Saint-Germain without a Champions League. Miami means even less, comparatively.

In a sense, that could be a bad thing. This league should be his to dominate. With 26 goal contributions in 19 regular season games, it proved to be, though he isn't going home with the biggest prize of all.

Messi isn't necessarily in MLS to just to win, though. Rather, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner also carries the mantle of growing the game in the United States. But the implicit argument is that the Argentine should be lifting the MLS Cup every year.

Expectations are nothing new - and Messi has failed to meet them in his prime years - but in five years' time, no one will remember if Messi won the MLS Cup or not in 2024. That doesn't mean this wasn't a failure, though.

For Miami the team, this is all a bit embarrassing. It's hard to spin it as anything but a massive upset for the best team in MLS. This squad, assembled by co-owner and team president David Beckham and the Miami front office, met all expectations during the regular season. They were the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference, winners of the Supporter's Shield and statistically the most successful regular-season side ever.

Yes, Atlanta executed a wonderfully constructed gameplan, and made it very difficult for their opponents. But if Miami were better managed across the three-game series, and got the most out of their stars, this really shouldn't have been a contest.

Still, only a fraction of what 'Project Messi' is trying to achieve is dependent on the 11 men on the pitch. Miami in MLS, much like Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, are a brand. Ask anyone outside of the MLS sphere, and they would likely only know the club as 'Messi's team'. They would recognise the pink kits and might know that Beckham owns them, and potentially that Luis Suarez joined Messi in this South Beach escapade. Scroll social media or ask people on the street how Miami are performing, however, and few would know the correct answer.

This won't come as comfort to the players, fans, or the league itself - the passion therein is real - but team performance is irrelevant to the brands of Messi and Inter Miami in the wider world.

But the team might have some thinking to do. This is a top-heavy roster that likes the kind of intelligent, athletic role players needed to succeed in MLS. Messi is not to blame - he's a Designated Player and therefore can be paid however much Miami want. Neither is Sergio Busquets, who is also allowed to be paid whatever Miami deems the right price within league regulations.

Financially, at least, neither Jordi Alba nor Suarez are at fault, either. They are both on affordable contracts, and have taken immense pay cuts from the kind of money they might have earned elsewhere. Still, roster assembling is more than a question of how much you pay individuals. There are knock-on effects and wage structures to be pieced together.

Suarez, Alba, Busquets and Messi pretty much have to start, based on their salaries. Much like some of the best teams across other American sports, Miami needs to shrewd in how they spend the rest of their money. Going down the 'Stars and Scrubs' model just isn't going to cut it.

During the off-season, they need a right-back, defensive midfielder and centre-back. They will get some help in financing such moves once Diego Gomez leaves for Brighton in January for a fee in the region of $14 million, but there remain questions elsewhere, too.

Suarez is out of contract, and although there is talk that he wants to stay, Miami might need a new No.9 if the legendary Uruguayan elects to hang up his boots. The long-term effectiveness of Drake Callender in goal, as well as the puzzling under-use of Julian Gressel, must also be addressed. Miami have tried the expensive route; now it might be time to be a little smarter.

Miami, then, have some thinking to do if they want to win the MLS Cup next year. The loss to Atlanta will sting, and it showed that this is a far more competitive and frenetic league than they had perhaps counted on. There is jeopardy and entertainment to be found here for fans, but also fallibility for the biggest names.

From a sporting perspective, for the quality of soccer in America in general, this can only be a good thing. Want a better product? Show that the best team can quite comfortably lose to a mid-table side. It reeks of Fulham beating Manchester City at the Etihad. In the UK, and perhaps in Europe, that would be celebrated.

The difference in that case, though, is that Man City have a whole season to play, and tweaks that can be made throughout. Miami now have three months, roster uncertainty, and the distaste of having to watch someone else lift a trophy from home.

Of course, by winning the Supporters' Shield and with the U.S. hosting the Club World Cup in 2025, Miami have already secured a spot in next summer's tournament, as FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced last month. So losing in the first round of the play-offs to a wildcard team won't affect that.

But if Beckham and Co. are smart football people - and presumably they are - then this next few months will be used to tweak and readjust. The big names are unlikely to be going anywhere; they can't if this league is to continue to grow. Even the loss of Suarez could have significant implications.

Instead, the assignment is to take a winning side, and build it for success in a play-off setting. Rely on role players, find value where others might not, and retool. There is only so much more Messi can give; Miami simply have to take advantage of him before it's all gone.