Throughout the 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) season, Lionel Messi has only played in 55% of all matches. However, El Pulga still led the club to the Supporters' Shield and a record MLS points. He was also honored as MVP of the tournament.
Messi only needs 19 matches (1,585 minutes) to prove his ability last season with 20 goals and 16 assists.
Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino quickly realized that the team could let Messi rest when needed and still qualify for the MLS knockout round.
According to ESPN Research, teams in MLS history only need to win about 1/3 of their matches in the season to qualify for the knockout round. With new head coach Rafael Mascherano in charge, Messi's participation with Inter Miami is in a similar pattern.
"A MLS season allows you to lose certain games. The knockout round of a continental tournament is not. That means you are out. MLS is a long season that will eventually lead to a continental cup, where the knockout rounds are the standard and you can't beat them," Mascherano said earlier this season.
Winning as many games as possible is not a requirement for a successful MLS season. The important thing is to win the right match. The FIFA Club World Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup are the knockout matches that Inter Miami will definitely play for Messi if they can. The same goes for the MLS knockout round.
But what about the MLS season? Not necessarily. Unlike Messi's previous tournaments, La Liga and Ligue 1, he has won continuously throughout the season and the top spot is not equivalent to the MLS title.
Instead, the US tournament has a direct qualifying system. Of which, the top 7 teams from the Eastern and Western Federations will qualify directly to participate in the post-season tournament.
In the newly amended MLS law, the 8th and 9th positions of each Federation will compete for 2 more spots. Each Federation has a total of 15 teams, which means more than half of the teams will advance to the final round.
In the past 2 years, teams that have accumulated 40-45 points will qualify for the knockout round as the final seed. In 2024, CF Montreal took 8th place with only 43 points after 34 matches.
As Mascherano said, this format is very comfortable, as teams can lose some matches without negatively affecting their chances of reaching the knockout round - the first barrier to success in MLS.
Although Atlanta United are the last team to qualify for the 2024 finals, they have eliminated Miami, the Supporters' Shield champions, in the first stage.
MLS encourages teams to finish the season in top positions to ensure home advantage and fight for the Supporters' Shield, but once they qualify for the knockout round, anything can happen.
In 2023, Martino gave Messi a break in less important matches. In the 10 matches before the knockout round, Messi has missed 25% of his MLS matches but not because of injury, but just to let him rest.
At the end of the 2024 MLS campaign, Martino left Messi out of the starting lineup for 2 matches leading to the knockout round. Once again, it is not for injury but for him to rest because Miami has secured a place in the knockout round.
Messi played a total of 65 minutes in those two games, saving energy while maintaining the necessary tempo for the play-offs against Atlanta United. Messi played the full 270 minutes but Miami still lost in a surprising match.
"We have decided to give the players a break. After 2 full matches, we made some changes, and we have players ready to play.
We have been able to complete our two goals. One is to give the players a break and also win the match because it has a meaningful motivation when in a position that can break the score record" - Martino said before the knockout round.
And now, in 2025, this model continues. According to ESPN Research, Messi has played 73% of the minutes he can for Inter Miami in MLS this season, compared to 86% of the minutes in the Concacaf Champions (including extra time).
El Pulga has played more since mid-May, but that has helped him achieve the right fitness after Inter Miami were eliminated from the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Inter Miami have launched the 2025 campaign by balancing the MLS and Concacaf Champions Cup. They quickly moved from the mid-season break to two tournaments that required a lot of effort, forcing the club to change their training schedule to suit the competition time.
At the age of 37, Messi has adapted and created a training regime to continue playing at a high level. But as El Pulga said last year: "Restation is very important today. As we age, things get more difficult."
Taking a break and ignoring MLS's less important matches is the key for Messi to help his teammates when needed. When the FIFA Club World Cup begins, a similar model could emerge.
