Messi, Inter Miami lose 3-0 to Seattle in Leagues Cup final marred by brawl
A crowd of nearly 70,000 fans rocked Lumen Field in Seattle Sunday as Lionel Messi and his high-priced, high-profile Inter Miami teammates were outclassed 3-0 by the Sounders in a Leagues Cup final marred by a post-game brawl.
Miami was unable to find the back of the net, squandering two easy scoring chances and giving up goals to Osaze De Rosario, Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock, all players who had come up through the Tacoma Defiance, Seattle’s second team.
Inter Miami, clearly humiliated, let out its frustrations after the final whistle, when several Miami players, led by Luis Suarez, got into a scuffle with Seattle players. Suarez was caught on camera spitting at a member of the Sounders’ staff, and coaches had to break up the brawl.
Miami coach Javier Mascherano, asked about his players’ postgame behavior, said: “I have nothing to say because I was far away and didn’t see what happened. Nobody likes for there to be these types of actions. Maybe there was provocation, but I don’t know what happened.”
The Leagues Cup is a tournament co-hosted by MLS and Liga MX and sanctioned by Concacaf, and has a disciplinary committee independent from both leagues or the regional federation. Any disciplinary action following the incident would come from that committee, but MLS could also get involved.
“The Leagues Cup Organizing Committee will review the incidents at the end of the game and proceed accordingly,” read a statement from a tournament spokesperson.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said: “Unfortunately, that is going to take some attention away from a great Sounders performance. I guess we can take that as a compliment that Miami’s frustrations led to some things happening. But that shouldn’t be the story.”
The story, he said, was the lesser-known Sounders players stepping up against players of Miami’s pedigree.
“Tonight was our night,” he said. “They have unbelievably talented players. We were under it in the second half, and they probably should have scored a couple of goals. But we played smart, kept our composure, and that’s why we won. Christine [his wife] and I were at dinner the other night, having a glass of wine, and I was talking Messi and Suarez and she said, `Stop talking about Miami. Let’s talk about our boys.’
“We have a great team. They might not be the names that are in the world stage. But they’re certainly talented people. They put everything into their craft. They’re not household names across the world, but as a collective, they’re very strong.”
Schmetzer added that he and Messi shared a few nice words after the match and that Mascherano and Inter Miami owners David Beckham and Jorge Mas went out of their way to shake his hand before the game and praise the Sounders organization for its winning history.
Mascherano conceded that his team was outplayed in the first half.
“In these types of games, details are key and our play in the beginning of the game hurt us,” he said. “We got stronger as the game wore on. We had chances to tie the game, but we had to take risks in the final few minutes and after their PK that hurt us. I think the score was more lopsided than the game.”
Though there were plenty of pink shirts in the stands, there was no question the Sounders had the home field advantage.
A sea of green Emerald City supporters, proudly wearing their team scarves, marched down Occidental Avenue to the stadium and made their presence known even before the opening whistle. The decibel rose to another level when De Rosario gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute.
At the Sounders’ team store, they ran a promotion where 100 fans could swap a Messi jersey for a Rothrock Sounders shirt, and they did, within the first few minutes. One of the banners in the stadium read: “Success is Built. Not Bought.”
Inter Miami owners David Beckham, and Jorge and Jose Mas, all decked in matching suits with the club crest, watched the electric atmosphere from a stadium suite.
Beckham praised the Seattle fan base during a pregame interview with Apple TV.
“It’s going to be a great occasion in this great stadium in front of some of the best set of fans I’ve ever played in front of with MLS,” Beckham said. “I’ve always said the Seattle fans are the closest to a European fan base that I’ve seen. They’re all turning out [Sunday], but Leo is special.”
Mascherano made one change from the semifinal starting lineup, opting to return to Tadeo Allende over Baltasar Rodriguez. The rest of the Miami starters were Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Rodrigo De Paul, Yannick Bright, Ian Fray, Maxi Falcon, Gonzalo Lujan, Jordi Alba, and Oscar Ustari in goal.
Seattle was not intimidated by Miami’s star power.
The Sounders had faced world-class players earlier in the summer, holding their own in the Club World Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético and Botafogo. They followed that up with just one loss in 14 matches (10-1-3) heading into Sunday’s game. They had outscored their Leagues Cup opponents 13-2 in five games.
Seattle, which joined MLS in 2009, has a lot more history and trophies than Inter Miami. The Sounders have four U.S. Open Cup titles, two MLS Cups, a Supporters’ Shield, a Concacaf Champions Cup title, and now a Leagues Cup. Miami has one Leagues Cup and one Supporters’ Shield in its six-year existence.
The Sounders’ defenders swarmed Messi from the first minute, and midfielder Obed Vargas was particularly physical, annoying the Argentine icon time and again. Messi, clearly frustrated, completed just 17 passes in the first half.
Suarez barely touched the ball in the first 45 minutes, and Miami created very few scoring chances.
Although Miami dominated possession 67 percent in the first half, Seattle had three shots on goal to none for Inter Miami. De Rosario, son of former MLS great Dwayne De Rosario, was unmarked in the box when he received an Alex Roldan cross from the right and he capitalized, heading it in from close range to the bottom left corner.
“I am very happy with the first 45 minutes, but we have 45 nervy minutes to go,” Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer told Apple TV at halftime.
Mascherano switched Allende to the left and De Paul to the right for the second half, and Miami came out much stronger. But, the men in pink blew two easy scoring chances.
Messi had a golden opportunity to score the equalizer in the 50th minute, receiving a perfect pass to his normally trusty left foot from Suarez at close range. But the Argentine made a rare mistake from that spot, shanking it high over the crossbar.
Ten minutes later, Suarez delivered another assist on a silver platter to Allende, who was one on one with Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, but misfired and his shot sailed right.
Telasco Segovia, the Venezuelan attacking midfielder, went in for center back Lujan in the 57th minute and Busquets shifted to center back.
The Sounders went up 2-0 in the 84th minute when Bright, racing back to defend Georgi Minoungou, was called for a foul in the box. Roldan converted the penalty kick. Rothrock, a Seattle native, made it 3-0 five minutes later, drawing a deafening ovation from the home crowd.
Inter Miami and the Sounders will meet again in a regular season MLS game Sept. 16 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
This story was originally published August 31, 2025 at 9:46 PM.