Inter Miami CF

An expansion licence, a borrowed ground and a record fine

Major League Soccer approved the franchise on 29 January 2018. David Beckham fronted the ownership group; Jorge and Jose Mas hold the majority stake. The full name is Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, the crest carries two white herons whose legs interlock into an M, and the three points of the shield stand for Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The colours are pink, black and white.

The first season, in 2020, was played at a temporary ground in Fort Lauderdale — opened as DRV PNK Stadium, later renamed Chase Stadium — and went badly: seven wins, 13 defeats, three draws, 24 points and tenth place in the Eastern Conference. It also cost the club money. Blaise Matuidi joined from Juventus in August 2020, and MLS subsequently found that Matuidi and Andrés Reyes had been mis-categorised on the roster, effectively giving Miami four Designated Players rather than the permitted three. The league imposed a record 2 million dollar fine, cut the club's allocation money by 2,271,250 dollars across 2022 and 2023, fined Jorge Mas 250,000 dollars and suspended the then sporting director, Paul McDonough, through the 2022 season.

July 2023, and four trophies in three years

Lionel Messi signed as a free agent in July 2023 on a Designated Player contract, followed into the squad by Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez. The first trophy in club history came within weeks: the Leagues Cup final at GEODIS Park on 19 August 2023, where Messi curled in the opener after 23 minutes, Fafa Picault headed Nashville level, and Miami won 10-9 on penalties, the shootout settled by Drake Callender's save from opposing goalkeeper Elliot Panicco.

The 2024 season brought the Supporters' Shield and 74 points, the highest regular-season total in MLS history, with Messi taking the Landon Donovan MVP award. In 2025 he scored 43 goals in all competitions, set a regular-season record of 45 goal contributions, won the Golden Boot and a second MVP award. The club lost the Leagues Cup final that year but took the title that had eluded it: MLS Cup on 6 December 2025 at Chase Stadium, a 3-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps, with Messi assisting second-half goals for Rodrigo De Paul and Tadeo Allende and collecting the final's MVP award.

In October 2025 Messi signed an extension through the 2028 season, which would carry him to 41 and tie the club's commercial and sporting planning to him for the life of the new stadium's first three years.

Nu Stadium: the move the club spent six years arguing for

Ground was broken at Miami Freedom Park on 28 August 2023, on a 131-acre site beside Miami International Airport at 1900 NW 37th Avenue. MANICA Architecture and Arquitectonica designed a 26,700-seat, soccer-specific ground on grass, with a 360-degree open-air concourse looking across to downtown Miami and more than 4,500 on-site parking spaces — the largest provision at any MLS venue. The Brazilian fintech Nubank took naming rights on 3 March 2026; the club also designated lower and upper bowl sections on the east side as the Leo Messi Stand.

The first match was played on 4 April 2026 against Austin FC in front of 26,412. Guilherme Biro scored after five minutes, Messi equalised four minutes later, and Suárez levelled again in the 82nd for a 2-2 draw. Jorge Mas and Beckham spoke before kick-off, Marc Anthony sang the anthem and there were fireworks; MLS commissioner Don Garber called the building the equal of any sports facility anywhere.

Reporting from the ground was less uniform. Landscaping had not been planted, parts of the car parks were gravel rather than paving, some walls were unpainted, rain came through awnings, several routes were closed off and a number of food stalls were cordoned incomplete. Traffic around the site gridlocked for more than an hour after the final whistle and the airport warned travellers to allow extra time. Rail connections exist — Tri-Rail, Metrorail and the MIA Mover all reach the adjacent Miami Intermodal Center — but the pedestrian bridge linking them to the stadium is not due until the second quarter of 2029.

A season run by three different managers

Javier Mascherano, who had taken charge for 2025, left on 14 April 2026. Guillermo Hoyos held the job on an interim basis from 14 April to 14 September. Cristian 'Kily' González then agreed terms through June 2028 and arrived in South Florida on 15 September, taking over once his work paperwork cleared. He and Messi played together for Argentina in two World Cup qualifiers in 2005.

The squad was rebuilt around the title-winning core rather than replaced. Dayne St. Clair came in as a free agent in goal, Sergio Reguilón from Tottenham Hotspur at left-back and Germán Berterame from Monterrey, while the 2025 loans of De Paul and Allende were made permanent.

The results have swung hard. The heaviest defeat was 0-3 at Los Angeles FC on 21 February; the club beat Philadelphia Union 6-4 at home on 24 May; and on 29 August they beat CF Montréal 7-1, the biggest win in their history, with Messi scoring four. On 16 September, at Nu Stadium, they beat Cruz Azul 2-0 to take the Campeones Cup — a fourth trophy since 2023. Messi opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a header from a Suárez cross: his 100th goal for the club in 115 appearances, and the first century by any Inter Miami player. His first goal for Miami, in 2023, had also come against Cruz Azul.

Where they stand, and what is left

After 25 league matches the record reads 12 wins, nine draws and four defeats for 45 points and a goal difference of plus 15 — second in the Eastern Conference and third across MLS. Messi has 19 league goals and 23 in all competitions. Defending the MLS Cup requires only a top-nine finish in the conference to reach the play-offs, which begin in November and end with the final on 18 December.

Nine fixtures remain. San Diego FC visit on 20 September, then Columbus Crew away on 27 September. October brings D.C. United at home on the 10th, New York City FC at home on the 14th, Atlanta United away on the 17th, New York Red Bulls away on the 24th and FC Cincinnati at home on the 28th. The season closes away at New England Revolution on 1 November and at home to Charlotte FC on 7 November.

The crowd the new ground inherited

Four recognised supporters' organisations sit behind the team: The Siege, Southern Legion, Vice City 1896 and Nación Rosa y Negro. The steep rake of the new bowl was designed to push their noise back onto the pitch, and on opening night it did — defender Maxi Falcón described the welcome as something the players felt, and St. Clair said the crowd was close enough to the game to smother Austin at the key moments.

Ticketing is cheaper than the Messi-era resale market suggests. General admission starts at 54 dollars bought on the day, while season members were offered seats from 40 dollars a match across the 17 home dates, with priority access for the play-offs. Catering is run with Delaware North and built around Miami restaurant names, and the concourse carries what the club bills as the largest bar in MLS.