Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) lifts the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy alongside his teammates after they defeated Vancouver Whitecaps in their MLS Cup final match at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Everything looked rosy for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami from the opening whistle as they faced the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday afternoon in the MLS Cup Final, the biggest game in club history.
Chase Stadium was packed with pink-clad fans. “La Familia”, the club’s most diehard supporters, bounced shoulder to shoulder in the north stands, belting out chants and banging drums.
They were there at the lowest points of the team’s history, in severe thunderstorms, and they were ready to party on a sunny championship day. They unfurled a giant banner that read: “Dale Alegria a Mi Corazon, Salir Campeon es Mi Obsesion” (Translation: Give my heart joy, becoming champion is our obsession).
They got their wish, as Inter Miami edged Vancouver 3-1 in a tense, chippy game with 45 fouls called. The Whitecaps dominated possession, but Miami’s stars stepped up when they were needed most.
Messi did not score, but he proved heroics, delivering the assist on Rodrigo De Paul’s go-ahead goal in the 71st minute. It was his eighth assist of the playoffs, which broke an MLS record.
Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo De Paul (7) celebrates with forward Lionel Messi (10) after scoring the go-ahead goal during the second half of the MLS Cup final against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Photo by David Santiago [email protected]
Tadeo Allende then scored the insurance goal in the 96th minute, his ninth playoff goal, also an MLS record. The The goal began with Spanish legend Jordi Alba, playing the final game of his career, who sent a long pass to Messi, who then got the ball to Allende for the final goal.
“Three years ago, I decided to come to MLS and today we are MLS champions,” Messi said in a T.V. interview after accepting his game MVP award. “We reached the semifinals of the [Concacaf] Champions Cup, last year we went out early in the league and were eliminated in the first round. This year, winning MLS was one of our main objectives.
“The team made a huge effort, it was a very long year with many matches, and we were up to the task all season. This is the moment that I had been waiting for and that we, as a team, were waiting for. It’s very beautiful for all of us.”
Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo De Paul (7) celebrates with teammates after scoring the go-ahead goal during the second half of the MLS Cup final against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Photo by David Santiago [email protected]
As the stadium erupted and Miami players celebrated Allende’s goal, Inter Miami’s first-year coach Javier Mascherano ran onto the field pumping his fist, leaped on top of Alba and gave him a congratulatory kiss.
Asked what he was feeling at that moment, Mascherano broke into a huge smile and said: “The joy I felt saying farewell to two legends of football in the best way possible [Sergio Busquets is also retiring]. They deserved it, to leave through big doorways. They are two players who made history in this club, who changed the club completely, along with Leo. They will always remain in the history of this club, which is short, but that is why they came. I know how much this win meant to them.”
Goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo said of the retiring duo: “I hope they enjoy this victory. They deserve it for all they did for the club. We appreciate it. I am happy that we were able to enjoy the fruits of our sacrifice.”
More than an hour after the trophy ceremony, the sound of Inter Miami players singing in Spanish and rejoicing could be still heard emanating from their locker room as both coaches did their press conferences.
“We knew it would be a very difficult game, and they had a shot bounce off two posts, but that is the kind of luck you need to win a championship,” said Mascherano, who was doused with beer by players who ran in and surprised him during the interview. “That said, if there is any team that deserved to win in that manner, it was us. We competed best all season. We ended up on the doorstep of the [Concacaf] Champions Cup. We ended up on the doorstep of the Leagues Cup and we competed like nobody else in the Club World Cup.
“And, we were the best team in the playoffs. They won two playoff games in penalty kicks and we won all our games. So, I want to congratulate the players for knowing how to overcome tough moments.”
Inter Miami forward Tadeo Allende (21) celebrates after scoring the team’s third goal during the second half of the MLS Cup final against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Photo by David Santiago [email protected]
Mascherano added that his other emotion at that moment was “relief” after a long season with 58 games and many highs and lows. Before the game, he told his team in the locker room that Busquets and Alba were playing their final games and the rest of them had to play as if it was their last game, too.
And that they did.
“Through imperfections, we played with our hearts when our legs were giving out, we won anyway.”
The only parts of the stadium not in pink were sections 126 and 127, which is where more than 1,000 Whitecaps fans congregated, many of them in the No. 13 shirt of their captain, German star Thomas Muller. Canadians are used to traveling to Fort Lauderdale in the winter, and a contingent of Vancouver fans were spotted at the Elbo Room on the eve of the game.
Four World Cup champions were on the field for this MLS Final, and stars showed up for the occasion, including singer Marc Anthony, Canadian NBA legend Steve Nash, U.S. national team coach Mauricio Pochettino, former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter, actress Jessica Alba, and actor Danny Ramirez.
The weather could not have been more perfect for a South Florida team, bright sun and 83 degrees. Sorensen joked in the lead up to the match that he didn’t remember the last time he wore sunscreen to a game.
The pink party reached a new volume in the eighth minute as Miami took a 1-0 lead on an own goal by Vancouver’s Edier Ocampo, whose leg deflected a hard cross from Allende that was intended for Mateo Silvetti. Messi got the play started.
Fans roared again at the 39-minute mark, when Inter Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo chested away a close range shot by Emmanuel Sabbi after a header from Muller on a set piece.
That massive save helped Inter Miami preserve a 1-0 halftime lead, but Vancouver looked dangerous at times.
Then, in the second half, the visitors equalized on a 60th minute goal by Ali Ahmed, who scored from the left side off a Brian White assist. Rios Novo got his hands on the ball, but parried it into the inside of the post and it bounced in, silencing Miami fans and igniting the Canadian corner of the stadium.
Just when Vancouver stole the momentum, just when things were looking shaky for Inter Miami, Messi came to the rescue, the way he has so many times.
He stole the ball from Andres Cubas high up the field and sent a through ball to a sprinting teammate he knows so well, Argentine teammate and close friend Rodrigo DePaul, who right footed a shot to the bottom left corner. The two Argentines leaped into each others’ arms and were then engulfed by their jubilant teammates in the corner of the field.
“We made a few mistakes and they took advantage of them,” Sorensen said. “They have players really good at taking advantage of these situations as a team. I have to congratulate Miami, and also my counterpart, Mascherano on a great season.”
Watching it all proudly in their team blazers were Inter Miami co-owners David Beckham, Jorge and Jose Mas. Beckham was the first to arrive at the stadium, and said he was emotional after his long journey to this moment. All the owners were emotional afterward, as well, hugging Messi and other players during the trophy ceremony.
“I woke up emotional and walked into the stadium emotional,” Beckham told a small group of reporters before the game. “There’s no nerves. I’m just emotional. My journey with this started almost 20 years ago with the L.A. Galaxy, leaving Real Madrid to join the MLS at that time, was criticized by a lot of people, but I always believed in the sport here. I always believed I’d be able to help the sport grow here in a small way. And thankfully, I’ve done that over the years.
“I did it as a player and thankfully I’ve been able to do it as an owner, as well. And it makes us all very proud. My journey started in 2007 when I joined L.A. And then the journey with Miami started in 2013, finishing playing for PSG and the next day jumping on a plane and announcing that I was going to bring a team to Miami.”
Beckham added that “the only thing missing at that point were the right partners”, praising the Mas brothers.
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham hugs forward Lionel Messi (10) after winning their MLS Cup final match against Vancouver Whitecaps at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner [email protected]
Jorge Mas was equally excited before and after the match. He said he is going to treat the team to a nice dinner.
“This is a very proud moment for all of us today, the culmination of a lot of hard work,” Mas said. “It’s been an amazing season in every sense of the word and to see this team peaking how it is in the last few weeks and I think it will be an amazing day for our club. It’s an opportunity to make history. I told the players before the game, today is mata o muere [kill or be killed]. That’s the message.”
Last year, Miami topped the standings all season only to be bounced in the first round of the playoffs. Saturday, the team had a chance to redeem itself and raise its first MLS Cup trophy.
Although Miami was scoring at a torrid pace during the playoffs, outscoring its previous three opponents 13-1, the team knew Saturday’s match would be a huge challenge.
Standing between Miami and the trophy was an outstanding Vancouver Whitecaps team that routed Messi and his teammates 5-1 over two Concacaf Champions Cup matches in April and German legend Muller over the summer.
Messi’s teammates congratulated him for the game MVP. He is also expected to win the league MVP for the second year in a row.
“He is a winner, 48 titles,” said Falcon. “That says it all. He wants to keep playing. Wants to keep winning at his age. I always tell my family if I had a fraction of the career he’s had, I’d be happy. His commitment is contagious.”
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano made just one change from the starting lineup he used in the 5-1 win over NYCFC in the Eastern Conference Final: Rios Novo, Sergio Busquets, Ian Fray (back in the lineup after missing the NYC game with an injury), Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Maxi Falcon, Rodrigo De Paul, Baltasar Rodriguez, Silvetti, Messi and Allende.
Telasco Segovia replaced Rodriguez in the 56th minute and Yannick Bright went in for Silvetti in the 78th.
Vancouver’s Starting XI: Yohei Takaoka, Mathias Laborda, Ralph Priso, Ocampo, Tristan Blackmon, Sabbi, Muller, Sebasian Berhalter, Andres Cubas, Ali Ahmed, Brian White.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM.
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Michelle Kaufman
Miami Herald
Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.
