Lionel Messi has no shortage of motivation in 2025. His Inter Miami CF won the Supporters' Shield last season, setting an MLS single-season record for points in the process, before being humbly knocked out of the playoffs in Round 1.

FC Cincinnati handed Inter Miami a 3-0 defeat, ending both Miami’s unbeaten run since returning from the Club World Cup and Lionel Messi’s record streak of consecutive games with a brace.

Miami has won five in a row in league play and is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, albeit playing three fewer games than Cincinnati and the other teams in the top four in the conference.