MLS Cup 2025: Inter Miami vs Vancouver Whitecaps

Photography by: Peter Bonilla

Lionel Messi didn’t need an MLS Cup to cement anything. His legacy was carved in stone long before he ever slipped on Inter Miami pink: a World Cup, dozens of trophies, records that may never fall. Yet as the confetti rained down at Chase Stadium on Saturday, it was clear this one mattered to him. Really mattered.

Inter Miami’s 3–1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps wasn’t just a championship — it was the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year rise that began the moment Messi shocked the world and chose South Florida. Now, the Herons are MLS Cup champions for the first time, joining the league’s expanding pantheon of winners in its 30th season.

The match itself was a study in momentum swings and Messi’s uncanny ability to bend a game to his will even when tightly surveilled. Miami struck first in the 8th minute when Tadeo Allende’s driven cross — created after a classic Messi weave through pressure — deflected off Vancouver defender Édier Ocampo and into the net. But Vancouver refused to fade. After threatening throughout the first half, they equalized just after the hour mark when Canadian international Ali Ahmed’s low effort slipped under goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo.

For a moment, Vancouver looked ready to flip the match entirely. Emmanuel Sabbi hit both posts. Thomas Müller buzzed around the box. The Whitecaps controlled nearly two-thirds of possession.

And then Messi did what Messi does.

Punishing a rare miscue from Andrés Cubas, he instantly carved open Vancouver with a perfectly weighted ball for Rodrigo De Paul in the 71st minute. The Argentine midfielder took one touch, finished coolly across goal, and sprinted into Messi’s arms as the stadium erupted. It was the strike that effectively decided the final — the moment Vancouver finally broke.

Allende added the insurance goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time, once again fed by Messi, who controlled a lofted pass on his chest and flicked it forward with the nonchalant brilliance of someone who’s been doing it for 20 years.

The victory comes as Inter Miami prepare to leave their temporary home and inaugurate Miami Freedom Park next season. They’ll move in as champions — and with some farewells. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, two of Messi’s closest longtime teammates, played their final professional match, bowing out with one last trophy.

“We promised our fans we would deliver,” co-owner David Beckham said afterward, emotion catching in his throat. Messi echoed the sentiment: “This is the moment I was waiting for. That we were all waiting for.”