Javier Mascherano makes shocking departure from Inter Miami

A legacy of success

Mascherano spent just one full season with Inter Miami, but he fundamentally changed the club's standing during his short tenure.

He led the club to its first MLS Cup victory in 2025, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 at Chase Stadium in Miami to lift the trophy. The club had won everything from a Leagues Cup to a Supporters' Shield under previous coach Tata Martino, but it had always struggled to make an impact in the fiendishly difficult (and famously long) MLS playoffs. 

Mascherano changed that. He gave minutes to young attackers like Mateo Silvetti and Tadeo Allende, relying on them and their indefatigable spirit just as much as he relied on the likes of legends like Messi and Luis Suarez. The gambit worked: Silvetti and Allende dominated the 2025 playoffs, with Allende scoring the final goal of the campaign.

Mascherano faced heavy criticism when he joined Miami prior to the 2025 season. With just one coaching job — a brief stint with the Argentina youth national team that ended in Olympic ignominy — under his belt, many believed that he was only hired because of his connection to Messi. 

Mascherano turned that belief on its head during his short stint in South Florida, and for that, his tenure wasn't just a success for the club; it was a success for his legacy, too.

A troubling 2026

For all of Miami's strength in 2025, the club has failed to get going under Mascherano in 2026. It lost its opening game of the season 3-0 to Los Angeles FC, crashed out of the Concacaf Champions Cup in the Round of 16 to fellow MLS team Nashville and has yet to record a win at its expensive new stadium in southwestern Miami.

There are plenty of internal reasons for Miami's struggles, from the retirement of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to the struggle to integrate new signings German Berterame, Dayne St. Clair and Sergio Reguilon. 

There are plenty of external ones, too. The level of play in MLS has risen considerably, and several clubs — namely LAFC, Nashville, Vancouver and, somewhat surprisingly, San Jose — have proven themselves to be worthy competitors to Miami's famous flash. The club sits third in the Eastern Conference and 10th in MLS after seven games of play in the 2026 season.

A personal choice

For all of Miami's struggles, though, Mascherano's decision to leave the club appears to be his own.

Miami categorized Mascherano's departure as a step-down, not a firing, and it appears to have taken the club by surprise. MLS reporter Michele Giannone reported that the club was not prepared for Mascherano to leave.

With reports swirling about Mascherano's staff following him out the door, could the Argentine coach be taking another job elsewhere and leaving Miami in the lurch?

That kind of departure happens often in MLS — it's proud to be a league where coaches and players make their names — but it would be shocking to see it happen to a club like Miami. It's considered a mission-critical franchise by the league and its star-studded roster isn't one that will take kindly to that kind of unnecessary chaos.

There is one silver lining, for Messi at least. Miami will be coached by Hoyos, Messi's longtime advocate, on an interim basis.

If Messi wasn't already the brains behind Miami's decisions, he's certainly about to be. He and Hoyos have a relationship that stretches back generations. Messi even refers to him as his "footballing father."

Inter Miami will return to MLS action on Saturday away at the Colorado Rapids. Mascherano's future, meanwhile, remains uncertain.