Messi facing four months out of action as Inter Miami officially eliminated from MLS playoffs

Messi and Inter Miami crash out of MLS playoffs | Photo credit: Imago, X/@FOXSoccer, @BraveRonaldo

Messi facing four months out of action as Inter Miami officially eliminated from MLS playoffs

Ayoola Kelechi 04:39 - 08.10.2023

Messi's first loss with Inter Miami came with huge repercussions as the Argentine and his side were dumped out of the running for the MLS playoffs

Lionel Messi’s American adventure has taken a turn for the worse after the Argentine’s Inter Miami side lost the chance to be in the MLS playoffs thanks to yet another league loss. 

Messi set to end first MLS season early

The Argentine World Cup winner’s career has been characterised by numerous titles and accolades, including already winning the League’s Cup with Inter Miami, but he will be unable to buttress that success after they were eliminated from a possible spot in this year’s MLS playoffs. 

Messi transferred to Inter Miami for the American dream after spending two years in Paris Saint-Germain, where he enjoyed league success, winning the Ligue 1 title in both years with the Paris club. 

The former Barcelona player also won an astounding 10 LaLiga titles with the Blaugrana before moving to PSG, but it is now confirmed that he will not be able to continue his league success with Inter Miami, at least for the time being. 

Inter Miami suffer consequences of Messi dependence

Messi joined Inter Miami at a tough time for the club, as they languished in bottom place in the MLS standings at the time of his arrival, but even though he has rallied the team to a better position, his injuries have led to a downward spiral in results, leading to the club’s present debacle. 

Inter Miami won nine consecutive matches, starting when Messi joined in July, and were unbeaten in 13 matches before Messi’s first injury, which rendered the Argentine absent during their 5-2 loss to Atlanta United. 

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi after the loss to Cincinnati } X/@FOXSoccer
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi after the loss to Cincinnati } X/@FOXSoccer

Since then, Inter Miami have only won one of six games, and it came against bottom side Toronto FC, with Messi making a brief return to fitness. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

The results have seen Inter Miami slide back down the table to 27th position out of 30 clubs, with their most recent loss at home to Cincinnati sealing their playoff fate. 

Inter Miami out of MLS playoffs

Teams in the MLS need to finish in the top 14 positions to qualify for the playoffs, but the loss to Cincinnati, Messi’s first with the club, left them 10 points off the pace with only two matches left to play. 

After getting eliminated from the MLS playoffs, Inter Miami will be forced to sit out up to four months of action after their last regular season match against Charlotte after the international break. 

Messi lost his first match with Inter Miami | X/@BraveRonaldo
Messi lost his first match with Inter Miami | X/@BraveRonaldo

Players like Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, who joined Inter Miami this summer, will now have to find new pastimes during the off-season while the champion of the MLS is decided during the playoffs. 

Related content