It’s not something Major League Soccer would ever say out loud, of course, but it’s more than fair to believe Don Garber & Co. are ecstatic about the MLS Cup matchup Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is, unquestionably, as close to a dream scenario as the longtime commissioner, his growing league and MLS’ broadcast partners could have ever concocted.
“A perfect final, in my opinion,” Vancouver Whitecaps star Thomas Müller said.
“It will be a very, very special final,” Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi said.
It begins with Messi, the sport’s brightest star of this era and perhaps ever, leading Inter Miami into the final for the first time since his celebrated arrival in South Florida 2½ years ago. It continues with his famed teammates and fellow FC Barcelona alums — Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez — on a roster that has left playoff opponents in tatters.
For the first time in more than a year, Messi will play an MLS game on a standard broadcast as Fox joins Apple TV — the pay platform that owns the rights to all matches — for championship coverage.
There’s star power across the field as well, with the Whitecaps, also a first-time finalist, featuring Müller, the German icon who made a profound impact upon his summer arrival in British Columbia from Bayern Munich. His accomplices include Sebastian Berhalter, a U.S. World Cup prospect busting from the shadows of his father Gregg, the former American coach.
Falling one day after the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington — and the tournament’s schedule unveiling midday Saturday — the 2:30 p.m. ET final has the opportunity to draw attention from a soccer world already focused on North American activities ahead of next summer’s competition at 16 venues in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“I know the media and also MLS makes a point with Messi and I and the bigger names,” Müller said, “but I think it’s about two teams that are really close … with a very attractive and good-looking playing style.”
It marks the second time Messi and Müller have collided with a trophy at stake, more than 11 years after the 2014 World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro between Argentina and Germany. (Germany won 1-0 in extra time.) Their other nine meetings came in European club circles, six won by Müller’s side.
“It’s good this final came to be and we can face each other again,” Messi, who rarely does interviews, said in a written statement distributed by MLS. “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” since his midseason arrival.
“It’s always nice,” Müller said, “to meet old friends.”
Müller’s addition brought not just a world-class player to Vancouver’s lineup, but a big personality to the locker room.
“A couple of times we laughed at his jokes — maybe one or two times because they were funny,” Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen said with a grin.
The match will also mark the end of Alba and Busquets’ fabled careers.
A Miami victory “would be very nice for me, for them, for everyone, wouldn’t it?” the 38-year-old Messi said. “May they finish their careers with a title and in the best possible way.”
Alba, 36, and Busquets, 37, are seeking their 20th trophy as teammates.
“I’m grateful for the career I’ve had and the teams that I’ve been on, and everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve enjoyed, it’s a privilege,” Alba said.
“It’s a week with a lot of emotions knowing it’s going to be my last game … and hopefully it’ll be on our side.”
Miami is highly motivated after falling short of expectations the previous two seasons. Messi joined a struggling team late in the 2023 season and fell short of the playoffs. Last year, after winning the Supporters’ Shield as the best team in the regular season, Miami lost to Atlanta in the first round.
This season, Miami ousted Nashville in the first round, winning a decisive third game with a 4-0 romp. It then breezed in single-game knockouts by hammering host Cincinnati 4-0, and visiting New York City FC 5-1.
“They scored a lot of goals,” Müller said. “They scored a lot of fantastic goals.”
No doubt, Miami is favored in the final after scoring a record 98 goals across the regular season and playoffs and a 21-4-4 home record across all competitions, including 3-0-0 and a 12-2 goal differential in postseason. Messi’s 13 goal contributions (six goals, seven assists) and Tadeo Allende’s eight goals are MLS playoff highs.
Vancouver, however, got the best of Miami in international competition, sweeping a two-leg CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal in April on a 5-1 aggregate. “It stung,” Alba said.
Berhalter said, “Those two games give us confidence that we can go out there and do a good job and compete and work hard and get the job done.”
“They were better than us in April,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said, “but this situation is not the same. … We arrive in the final with confidence.”
While the Whitecaps added Müller during the summer transfer window, Miami brought in midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s Argentina national team colleague, from Atletico Madrid.
“It won’t be the same game,” Sorensen conceded.
Aside from Miami’s vaunted attack, the Whitecaps will need to deal with the Florida heat.
“It’s been a while,” Sorensen said, “since I put sunscreen on for a game.”
The heat, though, is most intense on Messi and Miami, whose celebrated marriage will reach peak interest Saturday.
“We hope [it] will be in our favor,” Messi said.
