This is Inter Miami’s second consecutive away draw, after Messi’s return starting with the 3-1 win over Philadelphia Union on September 15. Meanwhile, President David Beckham has been busy with work, and has only now returned to support his team after closely following the team in the early summer.
Returning to the United States, David Beckham immediately became the center of attention. In an interview with USA TODAY , David Beckham expressed: “If I’m away for the whole summer, and I’ve been away for four weeks this summer, when I come back to the team, the first thing I do is show up at the training ground or the game. This is purely personal, because until now I still can’t believe I signed Messi. I want to see him there. Second, I just want to see what Messi does in training every day, playing with his teammates. And that’s special for us.”
Also according to David Beckham: “It’s fair to say we’ve signed the greatest player to ever play the game. Everyone has their own opinion about who the greatest player of all time is – maybe Diego Maradona, Pele, all great players. But to say we’ve got the greatest player in football in MLS, in Miami, is like a dream, you know? It’s a dream every time I come back to Inter Miami.”
Messi helped Inter Miami win the first championship in the club’s history, the Leagues Cup in 2023. In the 2024 season, after a brilliant first period, the 37-year-old player was absent for the past 3 months because he was busy playing for the Argentina team that won the 2024 Copa America and was injured in the final match.
In the three matches since September 15, Messi scored two goals and provided one assist in a 3-1 win over Philadelphia Union. The next two matches included a 2-2 draw with Atlanta United and most recently a 1-1 draw with New York City FC, with Messi playing the final 30 minutes of the match and the entire next match. However, he has yet to score or provide any assists. Striker Leonardo Campana contributed two goals in these matches, with David Ruiz scoring the other.
How many points do Messi and Inter Miami need to win the Supporters’ Shield and break an MLS record?
Campana is now the top scorer in Inter Miami’s history with 31 goals (after 95 matches), while Messi has 27 goals after 32 matches and Suarez has 21 goals (30 matches) ranked 3rd and 4th. Gonzalo Higuain ranked 2nd with 29 goals after 70 matches, retiring in 2022.
The unbeaten streak of 5 wins and 2 draws recently has helped Inter Miami remain firmly on the Eastern Conference and MLS standings with 64 points after 30 matches, far ahead of rivals FC Cincinnati and LA Galaxy.
In the remaining four matches, Messi and his teammates need eight more points to secure the Supporters’ Shield (for the team with the best record in the MLS scoring round with a total of 29 clubs). They also need 10 more points to break the all-time MLS record (73 points, set by the New England Revolution in 2021).
Inter Miami will play Charlotte FC at home on September 29 at 6:30 a.m., Columbus Crew (October 3), Toronto FC (October 6) all away. And the final match will be against New England Revolution at home on October 20.
Messi is said to be in good shape at this stage, after returning from injury and being arranged by coach Tata Martino to play in alternating matches to gradually increase his fitness and physical strength. He can also return to the Argentina team to play in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers from October 11 to 16 without affecting Inter Miami’s schedule.
