It feels like a fever dream, at this point.
In the summer of 2023, Lionel Messi positioned himself over a free kick wearing the pink-and-white colors of Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami. Messi’s move to the United States had been long-rumored but often dismissed as wild speculation. The league was still a backwater compared to many in Europe and its clubs simply didn’t have the financial muscle of others vying for the Argentine’s services.
Yet MLS had moved heaven and earth to land Messi, and here he was, playing in front of celebrities, fans and millions of viewers at home and abroad. Deep into the second half of Miami’s match against Liga MX side Cruz Azul, Messi used one stroke of his left foot to transport everybody in attendance back to his glory days at Barcelona.
His free kick propelled Inter Miami to victory that day, and his brilliance over the ensuing month propelled them to an eventual Leagues Cup title.
To this day, Messi’s free kick remains an iconic goal in league history, and among MLS’ most widely-consumed ones (it’s currently the fourth most-viewed goal on MLS’ YouTube profile, behind Zlatan Ibrahimović’s debut goal for the Galaxy, Wayne Rooney’s tackle and assist, and David Beckham’s Olimpico). At the time, it certainly felt like a watershed moment for the league, and a pivotal moment for Leagues Cup.
Many who watched Messi’s masterstroke had never heard of Leagues Cup, MLS and Liga MX’s now-annual mid-season tournament. The joint venture was the latest in a long line of attempts by both leagues to capitalize on the long-simmering rivalry between Mexican and American clubs, and to capitalize on the massive market of Hispanic consumers in the United States.
Now entering its third year, it feels fair to wonder who is actually asking for this thing.
Its fundamental flaws became apparent last year, when an injured Messi was unable to participate and his presence could no longer mask them. The tournament takes place entirely in the United States, which leads to rightful questions about competitive balance and sometimes-empty stadiums. The value of the US-Mexico rivalry has also felt on the decline, appearing strongly only in matchups between the continent’s biggest clubs and, naturally, its national teams.
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MLS and Liga MX have fixed a few of the tournament’s other critical issues, successfully tweaking the tournament’s format to require early matchups between MLS and LigaMX teams, only admitting competitive…
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