Lionel Messi starts for Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United, chases Golden Boot

Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald on Oct 11, 2025

Published in Soccer

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It was Fan Appreciation Night at Chase Stadium Saturday night and Inter Miami fans got exactly what they hoped for: Lionel Messi in the starting lineup against Atlanta United.

Messi spent all week training with Argentina’s national team, presumably to prepare for the friendly against Venezuela Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium. But as the week wore on, there were hints that Messi might not play in that match and instead play with Inter Miami in an important game with playoff implications.

Sure enough, Messi watched in street clothes from a stadium suite as Argentina beat Venezuela, 1-0, and he was back in his pink No. 10 uniform on Saturday.

Inter Miami was in third place in the Eastern Conference standings heading into the match and within reach of second place with a victory. Also, Messi is tied with Denis Bouanga of Los Angeles FC in the Golden Boot race with 24 goals each.

If Messi scores on Saturday, he moves ahead of Bouanga, who is away on national team duty with Gabon. If they wind up tied at the end of the season, Messi has the edge with 17 assists to Bouanga’s eight.

The game had added significance because it was the final regular-season home game at Chase Stadium. Inter Miami’s new stadium, Miami Freedom Park, is under construction and scheduled to open for the 2026 season.

Also, the club planned a post-game tribute to Jordi Alba, who announced last week that he will retire at the end of the season.

Joining Messi in the starting lineup Saturday were: goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo, right back Marcelo Weigandt, center backs Tomas Aviles and Gonzalo Lujan, left back Jordi Alba, midfielder Tadeo Allende, midfielder Yannick Bright, midfielder Sergio Busquets, midfielder Baltasar Rodriguez and forward Luis Suarez.

Miami’s bench included Oscar Ustari, Will Yarbrough, Tyler Hall, Ryan Sailor, Santi Morales, Fafa Picault and Samuel Basabe and Ricardo Montenegro, who were brought up from the MLS Next Inter Miami II team.

Center back Maxi Falcon was suspended for the game due to yellow card accumulation. Also missing for Miami due to national team duty were Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina), Noah Allen (Greece U21), Telasco Segovia (Venezuela), and Ian Fray (Jamaica).

Atlanta entered the game with just five wins in 32 games and was in 14th place in the Eastern conference. Atlanta has lost 15 of 16 road games this season.

Miguel Almiron (Paraguay) is among the Atlanta players missing for national team duty. Others are Luke Brennan (U20 World Cup), Ronald Hernadez (Venezuela), Enea Mihaj (Albania), Alexei Miranchuk (Russia), and Bartosz Slisa (Poland).

The Atlanta Starting XI included Jayden Hibbert, Stian Gregersen, Juan Berrocal, former Inter Miami forward Leo Afonso, Dominik Chong Qui, Steven Alzate, Tristan Muyumba, Pedro Amador, Latte Lath, Cooper Sanchez and Jamal Thiare.