Lionel Messi, Miami Lose to Seattle, Disappoint Fans in Leagues Cup Final Bracket 2025

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami fell short in the 2025 Leagues Cup final on Sunday night.

The Seattle Sounders emerged with a 3-0 win at Lumen Field, preventing Miami from winning its second Leagues Cup after previously securing the trophy in 2023.

The victory marked Seattle's ninth trophy since entering MLS in 2009.

Fans weren't impressed with the final result from Messi's club, though.

Both teams were scoreless through the first 25 minutes of action, but Osaze De Rosario finally put Seattle on the board with a header off a cross from Alex Roldan in the 26th minute. It marked De Rosario's fourth goal of the tournament.

Inter Miami had multiple opportunities to tie the match at the start of the second half, but were unable to capitalize. The team's struggles were highlighted by an uncharacteristic short-range miss from Messi off a slick feed from Luis Suárez.

Roldan eventually gave the Sounders some more breathing room after converting a penalty kick in the 84th minute before Paul Rothrock put the finishing touches on the win with a goal of his own in the 89th.

Tensions were high as the match started to wind down, with players from both sides getting involved in a physical altercation on the field.

Inter Miami held 62.4 percent of possession throughout the match and racked up eight corners but only mustered one shot on goal compared to six for Seattle. Despite Messi's costly miss, he was the only member of his club to record a shot on target.

While Miami's Leagues Cup run came to a tough end, its runner-up finish still guaranteed the team a group stage spot for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.