Messi expected back as Inter Miami clashes with rival Orlando in Leagues Cup
The first sign that the rivalry between Inter Miami and Orlando had escalated was in late July 2023, when a Lionel Messi-themed mural in Wynwood was vandalized with purple paint shortly after the Argentine icon made his MLS debut in the Leagues Cup.
The message “FL is Purple” was written on the mural, a clue that the culprits were fans of intrastate rival Orlando City.
Things got heated a few weeks later, when the teams met in the Leagues Cup Round of 32. A fiery Messi scored a pair of goals, mixed it up with an Orlando player, jawed with the referee and was issued a yellow card during the 3-1 Miami victory.
Two summers later, the intrastate rivals meet again, on Wednesday night at Chase Stadium in a Leagues Cup semifinal (8:30 p.m., Apple TV MLS Season Pass). The winner plays in the final Sunday on the road against the Seattle Sounders or Los Angeles Galaxy. The loser also heads west for the third-place game on Sunday.
This time, there is more at stake and emotions will be running high as Orlando has routed Miami twice this regular season, 3-0 in Fort Lauderdale in mid-May and 4-1 a few weeks ago in Orlando.
Messi played in the first game and did not play the second game.
He is expected to be in the Inter Miami starting lineup on Wednesday after missing the previous two games while he recovered from a minor hamstring injury. Messi and Jordi Alba, who also missed the last game due to injury, completed the full training session on Tuesday.
Assistant Miami coach Javi Morales, filling in for suspended Javier Mascherano, said Messi and Alba looked fit to play, and a final determination would be made based on how they felt later in the day and Wednesday morning.
Mascherano, who was red carded in the quarterfinal against Tigres, will not be on the sideline against Orlando. He will be seated in the stadium in an area designated by Leagues Cup officials. No other details were given, other than Mascherano will be allowed to be in contact with his staff during the game.
Miami defenders Noah Allen and Ian Fray grew up in South Florida, Allen in Pembroke Pines and Fray in Coconut Creek. They, better than most of their teammates, know how deep the rivalry with Orlando runs.
“It’s a fierce rivalry, we’re both younger teams in MLS, so the rivalry’s still building, but since youth academies, the truth is I’ve hated Orlando,” Allen said. “Just playing against them. It’s not anything personal. It’s a rivalry that’s been built up from Day One.
“I have a lot of respect for the players and the club but the goal every time we play them is to beat them. Since our first year there’s been games where there’s kicking each other and fouling each other. Even when I was in Weston FC academy, we didn’t like playing them. It was a rivalry. It’s a North Florida vs South Florida thing and we want to represent South Florida.”
Fray is equally pumped to face Orlando a third time this year.
“It’s a huge game, semifinal of Leagues Cup after they beat us twice this season, so we’re looking to change that,” Fray said. “Credit to them, they’ve played really, really well against us. If you watch some of their other games, when you watch them play against us, they turn it up a notch and we have to figure that out.
“Even from academy days, we don’t like losing to Orlando.”
Apple TV commentator Taylor Twellman considers the Inter Miami vs. Orlando City rivalry among the best in the league.
“I love everything about it,” he told the Miami Herald on Tuesday. “The first time I saw the Orlando-Miami rivalry really come to fruition was during the first Leagues Cup [in 2023]. There was real animosity there. Everyone needs a rivalry within two to three hours away, and this one is brilliant. It organically came together and Messi coming here expedited that.”
Fray said Orlando has been particularly difficult to defend this season because its offense is unpredictable, with players moving all over the field into different spaces.
Twellman agrees.
“Orlando City’s gotten more diverse in their attack, more unpredictable, and they’ve got more legs now,” Twellman said.
“Miami struggles against teams that can play with the ball and can also run. But I think this game will be different. This will feel like a Cup final. Messi, the owners, the other Miami players, they all want to win trophies. With Jordi and Leo healthy, I think Miami will be ready. Also, it’s always been difficult to beat a team three times in a row.”
The game will be particularly meaningful for Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, the 21-year-old Fort Lauderdale native who grew up playing youth soccer alongside and against Allen and Fray.
Freeman tried out for the Inter Miami academy but did not make the team, so he took the long trek to Central Florida and joined the rival club.
“We played together very, very young,” Allen said of Freeman. “We’ve trained together in the off-season many times. Our families know each other well. I have great respect for him. He’s one of my best friends in the game. Nothing but happy for him, even though he’s on the opposing team. It was only a matter of time before he was recognized.”
Although Sergio Busquets and the other former Barcelona players on Miami’s roster are newer to the rivalry against Orlando, they realize what it means to play against an archrival in an important game.
“It is a ‘Clasico’ and both teams will want to win at all costs,” Busquets said. “We lost both games against them this year, by large margins, so we know we have to play much better this time if we want to be in the final. We cannot let them score as easily as we did in the other matches.”
Busquets Speaks on His Future
Busquets, 37, also addressed his future. His contract expires at the end of this season and he has not signed an extension.
“I am just enjoying this stage of my career now, professionally and with my family, and I don’t have any news yet. Once there is, I will share it,” he said.
Asked if he plans to finish his career with Inter Miami or whether he would entertain offers elsewhere, Busquets said: “When I left Barca, I knew I wouldn’t return to Spain or Europe. I am at an age where I am closer to ending my career than continuing, but there is nothing official yet about a contract renewal or retirement. When I know that, we can speak about it in more detail.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 3:01 PM.