Messi, Inter Miami open training camp Saturday. Here’s what you need to know
Six weeks after lifting the first MLS Cup trophy in club history, Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates will kick off preseason training camp Saturday in preparation for a year that includes the opening of Miami Freedom Park Stadium and the World Cup.
The team will have a different look this season following the retirement of Spanish legends Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Other players who departed include Fafa Picault, Marcelo Weigandt, Ryan Sailor and Will Yarbrough.
Inter Miami management focused on bolstering the team’s defense during the off-season with the acquisitions of MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair, Argentine right back Facundo Mura, former Real Madrid and Tottenham left back Sergio Reguilon, Brazilian center back Micael, and Argentine defensive midfielder David Ayala.
The club also made an offer exceeding $2.5 million for MLS Defender of the Year Tristan Blackmon of the Vancouver Whitecaps and was close to signing him, according to a team source, but the Whitecaps pushed back and said he was not for sale. Blackmon reported to Vancouver training camp on Thursday morning.
“Tristan is with us today, tomorrow we fly to Spain, that’s all we have to say; I won’t comment on the stage we’re at [in contract negotiations],” Vancouver sporting director Axel Schuster said at a press conference Thursday before the team left for a preseason camp in Marbella, Spain.
He acknowledged that the Whitecaps had been in talks with Inter Miami and that he has nothing against Miami for making an offer.
“We had two calls with Miami and yesterday again,” he said. “There’s nothing between the two clubs. They respect our position.”
Miami continues to work to secure a permanent deal for Tadeo Allende, who is on loan from Spanish club Celta Vigo. Allende’s stock rose with an MLS-record nine playoff goals. Argentine club River Plate also was making a bid for him, but he is expected to stay with Inter Miami.
Rocco Rios Novo, a loanee from Argentine club Lanus who replaced Oscar Ustari as starting goalkeeper during the playoffs, will be retained permanently, per a team source.
The status of Baltasar Rodriguez, on loan from Racing in Argentina, remains up the air as the two clubs go back and forth with offers.
As expected, Inter Miami exercised the permanent transfer option on midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, the Argentine national team star who was on loan from Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
One of the biggest questions of the off-season was whether Uruguayan legend Luis Suarez would return after being benched during the playoffs. The answer is yes. Suarez, who turns 39 this month, signed for a final season.
Other returning players include Messi, Tomas Aviles, Telasco Segovia, Mateo Silvetti, Maxi Falcon, Gonzalo Lujan, Noah Allen, Oscar Ustari, Yannick Bright, David Ruiz, and Santi Morales.
St. Clair, who plays for the Canadian national team, spent the previous seven seasons with Minnesota United.
“My agent told me [Inter Miami] was one of the teams interested, and having conversations with everyone there, the goalie coach [Mauro Dobler], especially, and knowing the ambition from the outside, that was really appealing to me,” St. Clair told the Herald last week.
“Obviously, it’s a big opportunity for me leading up to the World Cup, being in a global market where there’s a lot of pressure. That’s a new challenge for me and something I’m looking forward to.”
St. Clair, 28, had a standout 2025 season. He posted 10 clean sheets, conceded 30 goals in 30 matches, and was a key reason the Loons finished fourth in the Western Conference and reached the conference semifinals.
“The World Cup is the biggest event in the world, so there’s global eyes there, there’s pressure, being one of the host nations there’s going to be pressure on us and viewers we maybe haven’t seen before, so it’s something that really aligned with my next six months and it felt like this was the right step for my career at this point in time,” he said.
Reguilon, a 28-year-old free agent, previously played for Real Madrid and Tottenham. He signed with Miami through 2027, with an extension option through 2028.
Mura, 26, joins Inter Miami after three years with Racing Club in Argentina. He previously played for Club Estudiantes de La Plata (2019-2021) and Club Atlético Colón (2020-2021 on loan). He will compete with Ian Fray for a starting job at right back. Fray, the 23-year-old Coconut Creek native and Jamaican national team player, signed a new deal through 2028-29.
Micael joins Miami on loan through the end of the 2026 MLS season, with an option to make the transfer permanent at the conclusion of the loan. He previously played in MLS for the Houston Dynamo.
Miami paid the Portland Timbers $2 million for Ayala, a 23-year-old left-footed defensive midfielder who spent the past three seasons with the Timbers and considers Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano one of his idols and mentors.
The team will be tested early, as it embarks on a three-game South American preseason tour on Jan. 24 with a game against Alianza Lima in Peru, followed by a Jan. 31 game against Atletico Nacional in Colombia and a Feb. 7 game against Barcelona de Guayaquil in Ecuador.
Another preseason game or two may be added.
Miami opens the 2026 MLS regular season on the road Feb. 21 at Los Angeles FC and will play the first five games away from home while construction of Miami Freedom Park Stadium is completed.
The first home game in the new stadium is scheduled for Apr. 4 against Austin FC. In mid-March, Inter Miami will compete in the Concacaf Champions Cup. They got a bye to the Round of 16 and will play at Nashville SC or Atletico Ottawa March. 11 in the first leg and return to Chase Stadium for the second leg Mar. 18.
For Inter Miami ticket information, go to intermiamicf.com/tickets
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 1:51 PM.