What’s Next for Inter Miami, Lionel Messi After Javier Mascherano’s Stunning Exit?

The Herons must pick up the pieces of their floundering campaign without the Argentine on the touchline.

Lionel Messi (left) and Inter Miami are left reeling after Javier Mascherano’s departure. | Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images, Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Inter Miami sent shockwaves throughout South Florida on Tuesday afternoon when they announced manager Javier Mascherano’s immediate departure.

The Argentine, who is leaving the club for “personal reasons,” led Inter Miami to their first-ever MLS Cup last season, a run that included a record-101 goals. Lifting the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy was the perfect way to cap off Mascherano’s debut campaign on the touchline and send Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets off into the sunset of retirement.

The stage was set for the Herons to pick up where they left off this season, especially after winning the offseason. The club extended Luis Suárez’s contract, signed 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair and added Germán Berterame as their third Designated Player, joining Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul.

Yet just four months after their MLS Cup triumph, the defending champions are in disarray—and without a trusted face in the dugout to get them out of trouble.

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Miami’s Poor Run of Form Without an End in Sight

Inter Miami have just three league wins this season. | Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Alarms bells sounded back in February when LAFC demolished Inter Miami 3–0 in their season opener. Failing to even contend with their biggest competitors for the MLS Cup was a concerning look for the Herons, but there was no real cause for panic. After all, it was the first game of the season, and there were a lot of new faces in pink on the pitch.

Except the team failed to trend in the right direction. Mascherano’s men crashed out of the Concacaf Champions Cup—a competition co-owner Jorge Mas set as the team’s primary goal in 2026—in the round of 16 at the hands of Nashville SC. They also only tallied three league wins in their first seven games, dropping points to Charlotte FC, Austin FC and most recently, Red Bull New York.

Inter Miami sit third in the Eastern Conference standings with 12 points through seven games, a worrisome total for a team with arguably the best player of all-time leading its line.

With fast-coming matches against Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake, who both look more than capable of hanging with the Herons, it’s hard to imagine the defending champions breaking out of their poor spell without Mascherano there to lead the way.

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New Signings Under More Pressure Than Ever

Germán Berterame has scored just one goal since joining Inter Miami. | Shaun Clark/Getty Images

Now that Mascherano is no longer there to shoulder blame for the team’s shortcomings in 2026, attention will quickly shift to the new faces underwhelming in their debut campaigns.

Berterame leads the way with just one goal in his first nine appearances for Inter Miami. The club deemed the striker worthy of taking up a DP spot, but he has completely failed to return that trust.

The 27-year-old only just scored his first goal in a pink shirt at the weekend in the Herons’ 2–2 draw with Red Bull New York. Even worse, he has only tallied five shots on target across 422 minutes in MLS so far.

St. Clair will come under more fire as well. Inter Miami have kept one clean sheet in MLS this season—and it came with the Canadian on the bench. Otherwise, the former Minnesota United standout has conceded 12 goals in his six league starts.

The two big signings need to get back to the form that saw them previously claim so much success in their careers, or else Inter Miami will continue to spiral.

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A New Face on the Touchline?

Wilfried Nancy previously led the Crew to MLS Cup glory. | Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Inter Miami announced former sporting director Guillermo Hoyos will take Mascherano’s place for the time being. The club did not hint at who would replace the Argentine permanently, but it will no doubt be scouring the market for a worthy new manager to right what is suddenly a sinking ship.

The unexpected nature of Mascherano’s departure leaves the Herons reeling and without the luxury of searching for the perfect candidate, especially when so many are already attached to teams. In fact, nine MLS clubs appointed new managers ahead of the 2026 season.

One name currently unattached is Wilfried Nancy. The Frenchman previously led Columbus Crew to to the 2023 MLS Cup and 2024 Leagues Cup, before he left in December to manage Celtic. He only lasted 33 days, though, before he was let go.

Despite his poor stint in Scotland, Nancy knows exactly what it takes to win in MLS—and he never even had a squad as talented as Inter Miami’s.

Only time will tell if the Herons pursue the 49-year-old or look elsewhere for a new leader, but they will want a stabilizing force in the dressing room and on the touchline as soon as possible.

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