Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will begin their MLS preseason preparations in earnest Saturday with a friendly against Mexican giant Club América that will be played in Las Vegas.
This high-profile preseason game will be Miami’s first step into the spotlight under new coach Javier Mascherano, adding an element of intrigue for a team that will view 2024 as a mixed bag. The Herons won the MLS Supporters’ Shield as the league’s regular-season champion, but lost at the first hurdle in the playoffs. That followed a pattern that in knockout play, a team with Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba was ultimately too vulnerable at the back to win the biggest games.
Miami will not face regular-season play in MLS until February 22, and their first game of consequence (a Concacaf Champions Cup first-round clash with Sporting Kansas City) is exactly one month away. That makes a test against América — winners of the last three Liga MX championships — vital to hit the ground running next month.
Here’s what to know ahead of Inter Miami’s first preseason game of 2025, including time, date, and how to watch.
How to watch Inter Miami vs. Club America: Time, TV, streaming
The MLS preseason friendly between Inter Miami and Club América of Liga MX is set to take place Saturday, Jan. 18, with the star-studded teams meeting at Allegiant Stadium just outside Las Vegas. The game can be streamed for free on Apple TV.
Date: Saturday, Jan. 18
Time: 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)
TV: None
Streaming: Apple TV
Location: Allegiant Stadium (Paradise, Nevada)
Inter Miami 2025 roster
Inter Miami, under new head coach Javier Mascherano (a longtime teammate of Messi’s with the Argentine national team), have the following players under contract:
Goalkeepers (2): Drake Callender, Óscar Ustari
Defenders (9): Tomás Avilés, David Martínez, Ryan Sailor, Ian Fray, Jordi Alba, Tyler Hall, Noah Allen, Marcelo Weigandt, Israel Boatwright
Midfielders (8): Sergio Busquets, Facundo Farías, Julian Gressel, Benjamin Cremaschi, David Ruiz, Yannick Bright, Federico Redondo, Santiago Morales
Forwards (6): Fafà Picault, Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, Robert Taylor, Leo Afonso, Tadeo Allende
Is Messi still playing for Inter Miami?
Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in soccer’s history, will play for Inter Miami in the 2025 MLS season. However, there are no guarantees after that, as Messi’s two-and-a-half-year contract, announced back in July 2023, expires at the end of the 2025 season.
It’s an inflection point for Miami, MLS, and Messi, who will turn 38 this summer. From Messi’s perspective, he’s been able to dominate the league as expected: the former Barcelona star has scored 34 goals and added 18 assists in a total of 39 appearances across all competitions, and won the MVP award last season. It’s not the largest sample size, but no player in MLS history has comparable numbers over the same span.
On the other hand, Messi’s appearance total would be much higher if not for some persistent injuries and obligations outside the league. Messi has missed 21 matches over that same spell owing to thigh and ankle issues, not to mention national team duty for 2022 World Cup champions Argentina. That may give him pause in terms of how much longer he wants to play — particularly with the heavy travel demands in place with Miami, who will participate in the upcoming Club World Cup — and could impact the offer the team wants to put forward.
Club owner Jorge Mas has said he is personally handling talks over a contract extension. Beyond the obvious cache of the world’s most famous player suiting up for the Herons, Miami has a financial incentive to keep Messi in the fold. The club has a stadium under construction in Miami, with Freedom Park due to open in 2026. That should bolster Inter Miami’s stature, as the club’s current home Chase Stadium a temporary venue constructed in Fort Lauderdale.
Finally, MLS is also looking at 2026 as a massive year. The thinking goes that the 2026 World Cup will supercharge attention for soccer in the U.S., as was the case after the 1994 World Cup. MLS will not have the option of simply signing another Messi if the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner retires or finds another club.
How did Inter Miami MLS season go in 2024?
Inter Miami had a lot of positives to take from the 2024 MLS season. The club won its first truly major trophy, bringing home the Supporters’ Shield (given to the top team in MLS’s regular-season standings). Lionel Messi won the league’s MVP award, and the Herons’ total of 74 points set a new league record for points in a single season. It was, by any reasonable measure, one of the best seasons an MLS team has ever had.
However, the defining memory might be three bad results in knockout play. In April, Miami lost home and away to Mexican powerhouse CF Monterrey, crashing out of the Concacaf Champions Cup at the quarterfinal stage. Four months later in the Leagues Cup, the Columbus Crew trailed by two with just 23 minutes to play, only to eliminate Miami by coming back to win 3-2.
Most of all, a playoff upset for the ages looms. Miami entered the MLS playoffs having lost just once in its final 17 regular-season games, and faced an Atlanta United side that needed to survive incredible drama just to claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Miami won the opening game in a best-of-three series as expected, but lost games two and three (despite taking a lead in both of those matches).
Inter Miami game location
A bit of a departure geographically, Saturday’s match for Inter Miami will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Messi, Inter Miami preseason tour
Inter Miami will face Peruvian side Club Universitario de Deportes, the country’s first division back-to-back champions, at Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru on Jan. 29.
Four days later, Inter Miami will face Sporting San Miguelito at Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez in Panama City, Panama on Feb. 2. —Safid Deen