Inter Miami’s Argentine forward #10 Lionel Messi (C) celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the friendly football match between Ecuador’s Barcelona and the US’ Inter Miami at the Banco Pichincha Stadium in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on February 7, 2026. (Photo by Marcos PIN / AFP via Getty Images)
MARCOS PIN
AFP via Getty Images
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates begin defense of their MLS Cup title on Saturday night at the Los Angeles Coliseum in a much-hyped showdown against LAFC and its South Korean superstar Son Heung-Min, the former Tottenham Hotspur captain, whose MLS arrival has created a fervor in the city with the largest Korean population in the United States.
The first time Messi played LAFC on the road, in September 2023, the A-list celebrities who showed up included Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Le Bron James, Magic Johnson, Owen Wilson, Leonardo De Caprio, Selena Gomez, Will Ferrell and Owen Wilson. Miami won 3-1.
This time, plenty of celebrities are expected to show up again, and the crowd will be much bigger. Instead of playing at 22,000-seat BMO Stadium, which is LAFC’s home field, the game (9:30 p.m., Apple TV) was moved to the iconic 102-year-old Coliseum, where a crowd exceeding 60,000 will see the two most expensive players in the league face off for the first time.
Both teams enter the season with compelling storylines.
Miami, under second-year coach Javier Mascherano, has reloaded to replace retired Spanish legends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. This younger, faster version of the team is aiming to win not only the MLS Cup but also the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup.
Messi is still Messi at 38 years old, hungry as ever and eager to stay fit with the 2026 World Cup approaching this summer.
He strained his left hamstring a few weeks ago during a preseason game in Ecuador, leading the club to reschedule a final preseason friendly in Puerto Rico, but he was back in training at mid-week, traveled to L.A. and is expected to play on Saturday.
Asked how he will manage Messi’s minutes this season, with the Champions Cup and World Cup looming, Mascherano told the Herald: “Our obligation is to take care of Leo and assist him in this process the best way we can. Not only Leo, but all our players. It’s not like we only take care of Leo.
“We know the importance of this year, of the possibility of Leo playing in the World Cup at mid-year, but we also know the best way for Leo to prepare himself is to play. He knows his body better than anyone and it’s not much different from last year. We talk to him. When he feels good, he will play. When we think he will take a risk, we let him know, and we make joint decisions about his availability.”
Among Messi’s new teammates are $15 million Mexican Argentine forward German Berterame, who transferred from Monterrey, and 2025 MLS goalkeeper of the year Dayne St. Clair of the Canadian national team.
“German is a player that can play outside, inside, as a forward or a winger,” Mascherano said. “That’s what we were looking for, players who give us different options in the attack. Clearly, this year we have more options in the final third and that will allow us to play different ways. As a coach, I prefer to have more options.”
Berterame finally got his visa after weeks of waiting, trained with the team this week and will be able to play on Saturday. He was eligible to play in a preseason game in Ecuador (during which he scored) because it was not on U.S. soil, but he had been unable to practice with the team in South Florida until this week.
St. Clair was a free agent after his contract with Minnesota United expired, and Miami signed him to replace departed 39-year-old Oscar Ustari, who started most of last season before being replaced during the playoffs by Rocco Rios Novo. The club also signed free agent Luis Barraza from D.C. United.
“Rocco has earned the right to stay with the team and keep fighting for playing time,” Mascherano said. “Dayne is someone who had several great seasons in Minnesota and the chance to get him as a free agent was a good opportunity for us to get a keeper with international experience. New season, everyone starts from zero, except Leo [Messi], he’s different. We started Dayne in our preseason games, but we saw what happened last year. It’s all about how you perform.”
Mascherano said he has not changed his approach heading into his second season and the only thing that has changed is how he is perceived.
“We were lucky enough to win, and I stress lucky because you need luck to win, as well as the hard work we did, but the only thing that has changed may be how others see me,” he said. “I understood when I arrived last year there were a lot of doubts and maybe this year there are doubts, too, but fewer.”
LAFC’s new head coach, former assistant Marc Dos Santos, surely can relate. He replaces Steve Cherundolo, who moved to Germany.
His first big game in charge was a 6-1 rout of Real España in Honduras in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup on Tuesday. Denis Bouaga, the other half of dynamic duo with Son, scored a hat trick. Son scored on a penalty kick.
Son and Bouanga formed the most lethal pairing in the league last season. Son scored 12 goals with four assists in 13 games. Bouanga became the only player in MLS history to record 20+ goals in three consecutive seasons.
Los Angeles Football Club’s South Korean player Son Heung-Min (2R) speaks with teammate Los Angeles Football Club’s French forward Denis Bouanga (R) during a training session at The Liquid I.V. Performance Center on the campus of Cal State LA in Los Angeles on February 20, 2026. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images) FREDERIC J. BROWN AFP via Getty Images
LAFC also recently added Canadian national Stephen Eustáquio on loan from FC Porto through June 30.
Last season, LAFC fell a bit short of expectations, losing to the Vancouver Whitecaps in a dramatic penalty kick shootout in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. This year, they enter the year as one of the MLS favorites, along with Inter Miami. The MLS Cup final is 10 months away, but Saturday night’s season opener will offer a sizzling preview of what’s to come.
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Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.