MLS Cup 2025 is getting closer and closer. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will face Thomas Müller and the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday for MLS supremacy. These two teams have been contenders all season and rightfully earned their place in the final.
It is East Coast vs West Coast as there is a massive distance between Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium and Vancouver’s BC Place. Both teams are also looking for their first-ever MLS Cup title.
Both teams like to have the ball and can score goals. One team has a superstar that can change the game in an instant, while the other also has a superstar, but also has a collective of players that can make a big impact.
MLS Cup 2025 is the 30th edition and could be the most compelling yet, shaped by the high-stakes rivalry between global superstars Messi and Müller. Here are the key storylines fueling this unprecedented showdown.
Messi vs Müller: A matchup for the ages
This is the big talking point.
Messi and Müller are two of the greatest and most decorated players in soccer. Both have won countless trophies in Europe and will be looking to add the Phillip F. Anschutz trophy to their collection.
With MLS Season Pass available worldwide and the game being streamed on FOX in the US and TSN in Canada, high viewership is expected for Saturday’s match. Messi, of course, is an icon of the sport and he and Inter Miami are viewed around the world.
Müller, the most decorated German player, also commands a global following. Many eyes will be on him and the Whitecaps.
These two have faced each other ten times in their careers. Müller has the upper hand with seven wins, while Messi has won three. (Take out the two international friendlies, and Messi has one win over Müller) The most notable game between these two was the 2014 World Cup final. Müller and Germany prevailed over Messi’s Argentina with a 1-0 extra-time win. The two of them have also met in several UEFA Champions League matches. That includes Müller scoring a brace in Bayern Munich’s 8-2 drubbing of Messi and FC Barcelona in the 2020 quarterfinal.
I know about my games against Messi, but I also lost against him, and it’s not about Messi against Müller, it’s Miami against the Whitecaps,” said Müller on the matchup following the Whitecaps Western Conference Final win over San Diego FC.
“We know it’s going to be a very, very tough game, and the addition of Müller coming to that team makes them much better still,” said Messi to MLSSoccer.com on Thursday on the matchup against Vancouver. “It brings more awareness to the game, to the team, and it will be a very, very special final, which we hope will be in our favor.”
A World Cup winner will be an MLS Cup champion for the first time
19 World Cup winners have played in MLS. That includes Branco, Lothar Matthäus, Thierry Henry, Andrea Pirlo, Kaká and Bastian Schweinsteiger. But none of them have won MLS Cup.
That will change on Saturday. As mentioned, Müller won the World Cup with Germany in 2014. For Inter Miami, Messi and Rodrigo De Paul won the World Cup together with Argentina in 2022, and Sergio Busquets won it in 2010 with Spain.
Either Müller will be the only player to brag that he lifted the World Cup and MLS, or Messi, Busquets and De Paul can share those bragging rights among themselves.
Swan song for Busquets and Alba
MLS Cup 2025 will be the final game of the storied careers of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Busquets leaves the game as one of the best defensive midfielders and deep-lying playmakers of all time. Alba leaves the game as one of the greatest left-backs of all time.
Both of the legendary Spaniards will look to retire with one last trophy. This also means it is the end of an era with Inter Miami, as striker Luis Suarez’s future at the club is also unclear. Suarez has been benched for 19-year-old Mateo Silvetti, who has done well alongside Messi and Tadeo Allende.
Messi will look to help Alba and Busquets ride into the sunset with a victory.
The final game at Chase Stadium
Speaking of lasts, MLS Cup 2025 will be the final game at Fort Lauderdale’s Chase Stadium.
Inter Miami will move into the new 25,000-seat Miami Freedom Park in 2026. The new stadium is located near Miami International Airport and the Miami Intermodal Centre, a transit hub. The area around the stadium will also have retail and office spaces in the future.
Inter Miami want to bid farewell to Chase Stadium by lifting MLS Cup. It opened in 2020 as a temporary home for Inter Miami until Miami Freedom Park was completed.
While it does seem like a nice soccer-specific stadium, it is about a 38-minute drive from the Miami city centre.
Champions Cup rematch
The Whitecaps and Inter Miami have met twice already in 2025.
That was in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Vancouver ended up winning the first leg 2-0 at BC Place and then 3-1 at Chase Stadium for a 5-1 aggregate score. Miami want revenge for the Champions Cup loss and to lift the trophy in front of their own fans. They also lost the Leagues Cup final to the Seattle Sounders, and they do not want to end the season without a trophy.
Brian White, Sebastian Berhalter and Pedro Vite (sold to Pumas in the summer) scored the goals in that two-legged tie, while Alba scored the only one for Miami. Things have changed since the spring. For starters, Inter Miami’s first-year head coach, Javier Mascherano, has made adjustments to his tactics and personnel, and the midseason signing of De Paul was a boost.
Jesper Sørensen is looking to end his first year as Whitecaps head coach with an MLS Cup. With the arrival of Müller in August, he changed the Whitecaps formation from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1.
“I think it is a very balanced Miami team as of now,” said Sørensen on Inter Miami on Tuesday. “They have been good as of late and had a very great season…they’ve done well and played a lot of competitions this year. I think Miami is the only team that has played more games than us…I think they have done very well.”
The Whitecaps could end their amazing 2025 season in style
It has been a surreal season for the Whitecaps.
It was nearly a year ago that the club was announced to be up for sale. On Thursday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber reiterated that BC Place is untenable and that a new stadium is needed.
However, the Whitecaps have made the final in all the competitions they are in. They ended up losing the CONCACAF Champions Cup final to Cruz Azul and won the Canadian Championship Final against Vancouver FC.
Even before Müller arrived, Vancouver was one of the top teams in the league. Berhalter was named the Whitecaps player of the year and made the MLS Best XI. Tristan Blackmon also made the Best XI and was the MLS Defender of the Year. White scored 16 goals in the regular season, and Andres Cubas has still been one of the MLS’s best defensive midfielders. Canadian international Ali Ahmed also took huge strides.
Even with key injuries to Ryan Gauld (who was out eight months with a knee injury), Sam Adekugbe and Ranko Veselinovic, among many others, numerous players have stepped up. Ralph Priso has stepped up in a huge way as a centre-back in the last two months. Tate Johnson has shown a ton of maturity in the left-back position.
This is a team that is very close and cohesive. If they end up winning on Saturday, among the stadium and possible relocation talks, that could do wonders for them and their future.
