Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano has claimed there will never be another player like Lionel Messi after the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner scored two minutes after coming on as a substitute in his side’s 2-1 home win over Philadelphia in the MLS on Saturday.
On his return from an injury that ruled him out of Argentina’s Fifa 2026 World Cup qualifiers this month, Messi renewed one of the most feared forward partnerships in the MLS by collecting Luiz Suarez’s pass to strike from inside the box and put Miami 2-0 ahead after 57 minutes.
“You don’t need to ask,” Mascherano replied when he was presented with the familiar question of whether Messi or fellow modern great Cristiano Ronaldo is the better player.
“Messi is the greatest player in history. There will never be another like him – it’s impossible. Twenty years at the top and he is the total player; he can play as a striker, a midfielder, and if you put him at the back he would be the best defender, I am sure.”
Gol del mejor de todos los tiempos 🐐✨ pic.twitter.com/GyjzAZchhV
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) March 30, 2025
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Messi matches Miami MLS record
Messi’s goal was his second of the MLS season, while Uruguay icon Suarez now has four assists. The Argentina captain has also now matched the club record set by Gonzalo Higuain, who played for Miami between 2020 and 2022, of 43 direct goal contributions during the regular season.
“We wanted Leo to have minutes,” said Mascherano. “The idea was that he would play for 30-35. He felt good so he played some more.
“We thought that starting him would be a risk. Maybe he wasn’t fit for the 90 but it’s good for him to play about 45, in total with the added time.”
Jordi ➡️ Benja ➡️ Taylor💥 pic.twitter.com/fVG9CZTxc6
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) March 30, 2025
Mascherano hinted that Messi could start the Concacaf Champions Cup quarter-final first leg at LAFC on Wednesday (23:30 ET).
“The plan is that he can recover and travel to Los Angeles,” Mascherano said. “If nothing untoward happens, the plan is for him to travel.”
Inter Miami vs Philadelphia
Winger Fafa Picault headed against the crossbar in the fifth minute at the Chase Stadium, where Robert Taylor’s close-range finish for his first goal of the season gave Miami a 23rd-minute lead.
Hungary international Daniel Gazdag fired in from Quinn Sullivan’s cross to give Philadelphia hope with a little more than 10 minutes of regular time remaining, but Miami held on despite only having six of the 26 attempts between the teams.
MIAMI WINS 👊💗 pic.twitter.com/WN0yrinygl
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) March 30, 2025
“Football is football and opponents play too,” reflected Mascherano. “For 60 or 70 minutes, we neutralised an attack of four forwards that does a lot of damage – not only because of their technical quality, but because of their physical quality.
“They have very physical players and we were very good. The plan – especially in the first half – was that we wanted to play a little more directly.”
Miami have taken 13 points from their first five MLS matches of the season and are now a point above Philadelphia and Columbus Crew at the top of the Eastern Conference.
