Expansion In November 2012,
Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner
Don Garber confirmed the league's renewed interest in placing an expansion franchise in Miami, after the
Miami Fusion folded following the
2001 season. A
Miami expansion team led by
Barcelona and
Marcelo Claure, a Bolivian businessman based in the city, announced an expansion bid in October 2008, with plans to begin play in
2011. In March 2009, the league and Barcelona announced that Miami was no longer a candidate due to local market conditions. Additionally, MLS expressed concerns about Miami's lack of fan interest in an MLS franchise, the fact that
USL team
Miami FC was not doing well, and the plan to use the
FIU Stadium, relegating the team to a secondary tenant in a
college football stadium with an artificial surface. However, Garber said that Miami would be an expansion target in the future. Claure later joined
David Beckham's group of investors for the Miami expansion bid that was accepted by the league in 2014. When David Beckham, whose business manager
Simon Fuller had the idea of giving him an option to purchase an expansion team at a price of $25 million when he joined the league in 2007, ended his playing career in April 2013, the MLS held discussions with Fuller about several expansion targets, including Miami. That same year, other investors, including Italian financier Alessandro Butini and
Miami Dolphins owner
Stephen M. Ross expressed interest in owning a Miami franchise as well. In 2013, Fuller and Beckham discussed plans to buy an MLS soccer team in Miami. In 2013, when David Beckham was interviewed by
CNN, he thanked Fuller for the groundbreaking MLS deal he had negotiated back in 2007 and specifically the clause that Fuller had insisted on inserting to the player's benefit: "When I signed my contract six, seven years ago, my manager Simon Fuller actually got a clause in the contract that enabled me to have a franchise at the end of my playing career." In his December 2013 State of the League address, Garber had identified Beckham and Fuller as potential owners in Miami. Later that month, on December 17,
Miami-Dade County commissioners voted unanimously to allow Mayor
Carlos A. Giménez to negotiate with the Beckham-led group on a new stadium in downtown Miami. The league announced that Beckham exercised his option on February 5, 2014, and that Miami Beckham United, the investment group led by Beckham, Fuller and Claure, would own an expansion franchise in Miami, assuming that financing for a stadium could be agreed upon. In presentations to officials and potential investors, the ownership group used "Miami Vice" and "Miami Current" as
working titles for the club. After its initial stadium proposals fell through, Commissioner Garber reiterated in August 2014 that the expansion would not be approved until a downtown stadium plan was secured and it was only after Fuller introduced Beckham to the Jorge and José Mas, that the plan was green lit. In an August 2014 Q&A session, deputy commissioner Mark Abbott said Miami would be the 23rd team as long as a downtown stadium deal could be reached. Beckham bought Fuller out in May 2019. On January 29, 2018, the Miami Beckham United group (consisting of Beckham, Claure, Fuller, Masayoshi Son (founder and CEO of
SoftBank) and Jorge and José Mas, the Miami-based leaders of telecommunications and construction company MasTec) four years after the ownership's original announcement of pursuing a team, was awarded the twenty-fifth MLS franchise and was set to launch in the 2020 season. The announcement represented part of a larger MLS expansion that would increase its number of teams to 26 by 2020 and 30 after that. Since Beckham's original announcement of his intention to place a team in Miami in 2014,
Orlando City,
New York City FC,
Atlanta United,
Minnesota United,
Los Angeles FC and
FC Cincinnati have all begun MLS play. Paul McDonough was hired as sporting director effective August 4. The team's ownership group was later renamed Miami Freedom Park LLC. MLS returned to the South Florida area in 2018, when Inter Miami CF was announced. On January 29, 2018, the Miami Beckham United group, four years after the ownership's original announcement of pursuing a team, was awarded the 25th MLS franchise and launched in the 2020 season, playing on the site of Lockhart Stadium at the new
Chase Stadium. Former Fusion coach
Ray Hudson would go on to work as a color commentator for Inter Miami, while former Fusion player
Chris Henderson was appointed as the club's sporting director. With the addition of Inter Miami and
Nashville SC for the 2020 season, Major League Soccer organized the
2019 MLS Expansion Draft on November 19, 2019. On October 6, 2019, Inter Miami won the coin toss for the Expansion Priority Draft, and chose to select first in the expansion draft. Lists of protected rosters and draft-eligible players were released by MLS on November 16, 2019. On December 30, 2019, former
Uruguay national team player and
C.F. Monterrey manager
Diego Alonso was announced as the club's inaugural head coach. On February 14, 2020, Pizarro left Monterrey for Major League Soccer expansion side Inter Miami, following a protracted dispute between the clubs about the activation of his release clause, rejoining head coach Diego Alonso for a third time, his coach at both Pachuca and Monterrey. The following day, despite not officially being announced as a signing for the club, Pizarro scored the first goal for Miami in a 2–1 preseason friendly loss to the
Philadelphia Union. That same day, Monterrey filed a complaint with
FIFA against Pizarro and Inter Miami for improper contact between the player and Inter Miami co-owner
David Beckham while Pizarro was still under contract with Monterrey. FIFA's investigation was still on-going when news of the complaint broke on March 4.
Early years (2020–2023) signed with Miami in September 2020. Inter Miami's first MLS game was played on March 1, 2020, losing 1–0, away to
Los Angeles FC.
Designated Player Rodolfo Pizarro scored the first goal in Inter Miami history the following game on March 7, in a 2–1 loss to
D.C. United. Their first home match was supposed to be on March 14, 2020, against the
LA Galaxy, Beckham's former club, but it was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. On August 23, 2020, Inter Miami recorded their first franchise victory, 3–2 over
Orlando City. On January 7, 2021, Diego Alonso left by mutual consent. On January 18, 2021,
England Women's manager
Phil Neville was appointed as the new head coach, and the
Seattle Sounders's
Chris Henderson as chief soccer officer and sporting director. On March 23, 2021, it was announced that
Kieran Gibbs would join Inter Miami when his contract with West Brom expired in the summer. On February 23, 2023, Gibbs and Miami mutually agreed to terminate his deal at the club. He subsequently joined the club's broadcasting team. On August 13, 2020, Matuidi signed for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami on a free transfer. He made his club debut on September 6, in a scoreless home draw against Nashville SC in Major League Soccer. In January 2022, Matuidi was left off Inter Miami's roster for the 2022 season. On December 23, 2022, Matuidi announced his retirement from professional soccer after an 18-year career. On January 26, 2022,
Romeo Beckham made his non-competitive senior debut for Inter Miami during a 4–0 pre-season win against
Universitario. In 2021, the Mas brothers finalized a buyout to take over majority ownership of the team from Claure and Son. On May 28, 2021, MLS announced that it would sanction Inter Miami CF, owner Jorge Mas, and former sporting director Paul McDonough for violating roster rules during the 2020 season. The club had signed
Blaise Matuidi and
Andrés Reyes using targeted
allocation money (TAM) to comply with salary cap requirements and avoid using its three
Designated Player slots, but were found to have exceeded the TAM maximum of $1.61 million per player. MLS fined the club $2 million and reduced its allocation by $2.27 million for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, while Mas was fined $250,000 and McDonough was suspended from league activities through the end of the 2022 season. In May 2021, Inter Miami had to pay a $2 million fine for breaking MLS rules, as Matuidi was the fourth designated player in the team rather than the permitted three. Prior to the announcement, Matuidi was reclassified as a Designated Player by taking the slot occupied by
Matías Pellegrini, who was loaned to
Inter Miami II after his contract was bought out by the club. On July 19, 2022, Inter Miami had a friendly game match with
Barcelona, losing 6–0. On September 18, 2020, Higuaín signed for Inter Miami. On his debut, he missed a penalty and then started a fight as Miami fell to a 3–0 defeat to the
Philadelphia Union. On October 7, Higuaín scored his first goal for Miami, a late free kick in their 2–1 win against the
New York Red Bulls. On July 31, 2022, Higuaín scored another free-kick for Inter Miami, and then netted two more goals to complete a first-half hat-trick in 27 minutes against
FC Cincinnati in a 4–4 draw. Higuaín retired at the end of Inter Miami's 2022 MLS season; his last game was in the first round of the
MLS playoffs, ending in 3–0 away loss to
New York City FC. On January 20, 2022, it was announced that
Leonardo Campana would join Major League Soccer club Inter Miami on a season-long loan from
Premier League side
Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made his debut for Inter Miami on February 26, 2022, starting in a 0–0 draw versus the
Chicago Fire. Campana scored his first goal for Inter Miami on March 6, 2022, their only goal in a 5–1 loss to
Austin FC. "It's almost a DP signing for us, really, in terms of his quality," head coach
Phil Neville said. "He's played at the top, top level in the top soccer nations in the world. So we hope his experience, his quality, his leadership, and the fact that he's American I think is really important. We have a young, new team and we want experience in there as well." Yedlin stated "I know when I was in MLS, [defending] was a weakness in my game", after the move was announced. "Not only 1-v-1 but positionally. But now I'm coming back, being in a lot of different situations and a lot of different formations, playing different positions to a point now where I'm a lot more comfortable in those situations. I think I'm a lot better defender now than I was when I left."
Lionel Messi era (2023–present) On June 1, 2023, Inter Miami announced that the club had parted ways with Neville, with the club in last place in the Eastern Conference. Four days later, then seven-time
Ballon d'Or winner
Lionel Messi announced his intention to join the club as a free agent after leaving
Paris Saint-Germain, turning down an offer to play for
Saudi Pro League club
Al Hilal and ruling out a return to
Barcelona. Messi signed his Designated Player contract on July 15, joining the team through the 2023 MLS season. Argentine and former Barça manager
Gerardo Martino was appointed head coach on June 28 and joined the following month. signed with Inter Miami in July 2023. Messi formally joined the team, alongside former Barcelona teammate
Sergio Busquets, at an unveiling ceremony on July 16; Five days later, another former Barcelona teammate,
Jordi Alba, signed for Miami. Following Messi's arrival, Inter Miami became the top selling team across all sports on e-commerce retailer
Fanatics, while Messi broke the record for most shirt sales in 24 hours. The average price for tickets to Miami matches on
StubHub increased five-fold to $161. Inter Miami was one of the top Google searches of 2023. Forbes valued Inter Miami around $1 billion, an increase of 72% from 2023, making it the second MLS club to be valued at a billion dollars. Asensi said the club would make north of $200 million in revenue in 2024, far beyond 2022 revenue, reported to be $50-60 million. Messi and Busquets made their debuts on July 21 at home in a 2–1 win over
Cruz Azul in the
2023 Leagues Cup, with both coming on at the 54th minute. Messi scored the winner from a free-kick in stoppage time, ending Miami's 11-game winless streak. On August 19, in the
2023 Leagues Cup final against
Nashville SC, Inter Miami lifted its first-ever trophy, winning 10–9 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. Following this win, Inter Miami qualified for the
CONCACAF Champions Cup for the first time; the team began play in the round of 16. On August 23 in the
2023 U.S. Open Cup, Inter Miami beat
FC Cincinnati on penalties 5–4 after a 3–3 draw in extra time to go into the
final on September 27, where they lost to the
Houston Dynamo 2–1, after Messi was unable to play. On August 26 Messi, Busquets and Alba made their first appearances in the MLS against the
New York Red Bulls, which ended in a 2–0 victory. Messi netted the concluding goal. On September 16, Miami were defeated for the first time in the Messi era, without Messi or Alba playing against
Atlanta United, losing 5–2, ending their 12-match unbeaten run. On October 7, Miami were defeated by
FC Cincinnati, despite Messi being subbed on in the 55th minute. This result eliminated them from making the MLS playoffs. The Decision Day match between Inter Miami and
Charlotte FC was held on October 21. Miami were defeated 1–0, despite having Messi on for the entire match. On October 30, Inter Miami became the only MLS team to have a current player win the
Ballon d'Or, when Messi secured his 8th award. Because of this, Inter Miami played a
friendly match with
New York City FC named ''Noche d'Or''. Messi's 8th Ballon was presented at DRV PNK Stadium while the team lost 2–1. On December 22, 2023, Inter Miami signed Uruguayan forward
Luis Suárez, another former Barcelona teammate of Messi. In February 2024, a pre-season friendly against a
Hong Kong XI led to a
controversy due to Messi's absence. The
Argentine Football Association and
Chinese Football Association paused their partnership as a result. The loss in the
2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup against Monterrey led the team to miss out on qualifying for the
2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup tournament. On October 3, Miami secured their first
Supporters' Shield after a brace by Messi and a header by Suárez against the
Columbus Crew. On the last day of the season, Miami defeated the
New England Revolution 6–2, to finish with a league record 74 points. On October 19, FIFA announced that Miami would be awarded with the host spot in the
2025 FIFA Club World Cup. On November 10, 2024, Inter Miami was eliminated in the first round of the
MLS playoffs, losing 3–2 to
Atlanta United in one of the biggest upsets in MLS history. Messi's compatriot and former Barcelona teammate,
Javier Mascherano, was hired as the new head coach. Inter Miami then hosted the opening of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup against the record African champions
Al Ahly, which resulted in a goalless draw. The club achieved a historic 2–1 win against European club
Porto in the group stage, and became the first
CONCACAF club to defeat a European club in official competition. The victory also marked the first win for an MLS club in the history of the
FIFA Club World Cup. Miami would ultimately be eliminated from the competition in the round of 16, suffering a 4–0 defeat to
UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. win at the
White House In the
2025 Leagues Cup semi-finals, Miami defeated rivals
Orlando City 3–1, with Messi scoring a decisive second-half brace. Miami would lose the
final 3–0 to the
Seattle Sounders away at
Lumen Field. Following the final whistle, a fight broke out between players and staff from both teams, with Suárez spitting on a Seattle staff member. As a result of the incident, Suárez, Busquets, and
Tomás Avilés were fined and received suspensions from the competition; Suárez was handed an additional three match suspension from MLS. Inter Miami advanced to the final of the
2025 MLS Cup playoffs, where they secured a spot in the MLS Cup final against the
Vancouver Whitecaps, a game which Miami won 3–1 to secure their first MLS Cup title. ==Colors and badge==