In the wake of Tata Martino’s decision to depart Inter Miami, speculation about the team’s next coach immediately centered on a pair of options with links to its superstar player, Lionel Messi.
The widespread assumption was that Inter Miami would undoubtedly want someone who would keep Messi happy … and that the Argentina icon would undoubtedly have a say in the search. Two names popped up: Xavi Hernández and Javier Mascherano, both former Messi teammates.
A few days after Martino’s departure, Mascherano was appointed.
If there was any doubt about Messi’s influence on the decision, it was put to rest by owner Jorge Mas during a press conference to signal Martino’s departure.
“I had a specific conversation with him. … Leo gave me what I asked him, which was input,” Mas said. “That was Leo’s involvement and engagement with me, which (happens) frankly all the time.”
Mas noted that he talks to veteran players in his locker room to get their thoughts on how to improve ownership’s “project.” And while it may be rare in global football to see players influence their coaches, it certainly is not unprecedented in sports. It’s not even the first time such speculation has circulated around Messi, who was reported to have affected coaching hires at Barcelona, including that of Martino in 2013.
“The details of how the situation developed, I don’t know, (but) I have no doubt (Messi’s father) Jorge and Lionel had some influence,” Martino said upon his hiring at the Catalan club more than a decade ago. “I’m sure they were asked their opinion and we’ve come to this outcome.”
Messi and Barcelona director of football Andoni Zubizarreta both insisted that Messi had “nothing to do” with Martino’s hiring. Mas saw no use in denying that there was such an arrangement in Miami.
And really, it shouldn’t be treated as a surprise or a sign of player power spiraling out of control. When you’re dealing with perhaps the greatest player in history, the usual conventions don’t apply. The adage is that no one is bigger than the team, but in the case of Messi and Inter Miami, it’s not true.
Messi is not just a player in Miami; as part of his deal when he signed with MLS, he also received a percentage of ownership in the organization which could be triggered when his playing days are over. He is also one of the most popular names and brands in the world. Messi’s connection to Inter Miami has lifted the club’s relevance and commercial value to new levels.
To pretend Messi is just another player would be blind to the reality of the situation.
While it might be rare, Messi is not the first star to be consulted on a coaching search. ESPN reported Kylian Mbappé influenced the departure of PSG sporting director Leonardo Araújo when he re-signed with the French club in 2022.
It has happened with increasing regularity in other American sports, especially with big-name stars in the NBA. LeBron James has long been seen as having a voice in coaching searches, though there has also been pushback on how far that influence goes. Most recently, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said James was “supportive” of the search that landed his podcast co-host, JJ Redick, as Lakers coach but noted that Anthony Davis was more heavily involved in the process.
“In terms of the involvement with our captains with this coaching search and the coaching process … [James] was very supportive of our organization in this process,” Pelinka said. “And that’s a different word — and I want to be mindful of that word — than ‘involved.’ I would say it again, LeBron was very supportive of us and our process, but chose not to be heavily involved and we respected that.
“Anthony Davis, our other captain, chose to be very involved and was very involved. I talked to him throughout the process and got a lot of help and wisdom.”
Other stars, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have reportedly held an influence or been consulted during coaching searches.
Even in the previous U.S. men’s national team coaching search, players were part of the conversation before Gregg Berhalter was ultimately rehired.
The previous time MLS had a global celebrity on a comparable scale to Messi, it happened then, too.
A scene in Grant Wahl’s 2009 book “The Beckham Experiment” about David Beckham’s first years in MLS lays out the beginning of a fracturing within the LA Galaxy that would define the England star’s early seasons in L.A.
Ruud Gullit had been hired as head coach at the start of Beckham’s second season in the league, but after Gullit was introduced to the team, it wasn’t team general manager Alexi Lalas who stepped forward to answer questions, but rather Terry Byrne, a close associate of Beckham at the time who was a paid consultant for the team.
Gullit, who had a spotty record as head coach, would struggle in MLS. The league was vastly different from Europe. More importantly, however, Gullit’s hiring created an environment within the Galaxy that caused players to wonder who was really in charge. Less than a year later, when the Galaxy moved on from both Gullit and Lalas, Galaxy executive Tim Leiweke said he understood where things went wrong. Gullit was, as Leiweke would tell the Los Angeles Times, the pick of 19 Entertainment, the company that managed Beckham. The decision created instability.
“The mistake we made here was not being smart enough — and that’s my fault — to see inevitably the conflict that was going to come of this,” Leiweke said in Wahl’s book. “And it’s too bad. … The mistake we made is not getting everybody on the same page.”
Leiweke ultimately moved to bring in Bruce Arena. It wasn’t a popular decision within Beckham’s camp, but Leiweke would be proved right: Beckham won two MLS Cups under Arena before leaving the U.S.
MLS has changed dramatically since Beckham arrived in 2007. Mascherano will be arriving at a club more equipped to handle a coach without MLS experience. Inter Miami’s first coaching hire in 2020, Diego Alonso, also had not coached in MLS. Coaches hired from abroad have found much more success in modern MLS, including Martino, who won an MLS Cup with Atlanta United in 2018, and Ronny Deila, who won a title with NYCFC in 2021. Sandro Schwarz has taken the New York Red Bulls to an MLS Cup showdown (against the Galaxy, on Saturday) in his first season in the league.
For Mascherano, the bigger challenge will be navigating the power dynamics within the team, while also balancing the realities of roster-building restrictions in MLS.
Martino was able to do so to record-setting levels of success, winning the Supporters’ Shield with more points than any team in the league’s history. Martino was the perfect combination of having coached Messi and other top stars at both Barcelona and Argentina, but also having familiarity with MLS’s quirks. Finding his replacement was never going to be easy.
Messi having a say is hardly a shock, but now Miami must hope that bringing in another friend of Messi to coach the squad won’t lead to some of the dynamics that hurt the Galaxy when Gullit was introduced in 2008. It’s MLS Cup or bust for this Miami team, with the CONCACAF Champions League and the Club World Cup also on the calendar. Mascherano will be under pressure to deliver right away.
(Top photo: Chris Arjoon / AFP via Getty Images)
