Messi Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Cities | Miami, Florida |
| Venue | Inter Miami CF Stadium |
| Date | 9 December – 14 December |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  River Plate |
| Runners-up |  Atlético Madrid |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 18 |
| Top goal scorer | Bruno Cabral (7) |
| Awards | |
| Best player | Bruno Cabral |
| Best goalkeeper | Estéfano Sarro |
The Messi Cup was an international youth football tournament of a friendly nature. It brings together eight clubs from its academies with the aim of developing young players.[1] The tournament is named after the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi.[2]
The first edition was held in 2025 in the United States.
History
[edit]In October 2025, Lionel Messi posted the tournament logo on Instagram, adding: "I can finally tell you that a very special tournament for young talents is coming to Miami in December, with several of the best clubs in the world. And there will also be many more activities during those days. I hope you like it!"[3]
The company 525 Rosario, founded by Messi, announced the launch of the first edition of the Messi Cup. The inaugural edition was held in Miami.
Messi inaugurated the cup in the rain. He regretted that the rain had forced a change of plans for the inauguration, as the idea was for the players to accompany him during his MVP reception after winning the MLS Cup against the Vancouver Whitecaps.[4][5]
Format
[edit]Eight clubs from around the world participate and are divided into two groups. Each team plays a minimum of three matches against others in their group. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, or semifinals, to determine the champion. The final, as well as the third-place match, is played on the last day at Chase Stadium. Each match consists of two 40-minute halves.[6][7]
Participating teams
[edit]Group A
[edit]
Chelsea (classified)- Atlético Madrid (classified)
Inter Miami- Newell's Old Boys
Group B
[edit]- Manchester City (classified)
- River Plate (classified)
- FC Barcelona
Inter Milán[7]
Group Stage
[edit]Group A
[edit]| 9 December 2025 Group stage | Chelsea | 4–2 | Atlético Madrid | |
Sambou  16'Grimwade 37'Watson 46'Ayinde 53' |
Serrano 27' Obarrio 79' |
| 9 December 2025 Group stage | Inter Miami | 4–0 | Newell's Old Boys | |
| Leandro Padilla 3' Nicolas Pineros 8'Zidane Cadet 32', 72' |
Group B
[edit]| 9 December 2025 Group stage | Barcelona | 2–2 | River Plate | |
| Ruslan Mba 34' Ahmed Abarkane 80' |
Bruno Cabral 60' (pen.) Joaquín Amor 63' |
| 9 December 2025 Group stage | Manchester City | 3–0 | Inter Milán | |
| David Eze 39' Raphael Aiyegbusi 49'Xavier Parker 60' |
| 10 December 2025 Group stage | River Plate | 1–2 | Manchester City | |
| F. Lopéz 4' |
X. Parker 58' A. Thorton 66' |
| 10 December 2025 Group stage | Inter Milán | 0–3 | Barcelona | |
| Ignasi Bassas 18' Ruslan Mba 48', 67' |
| 11 December 2025 Group stage | River Plate | 5–1 | Inter Milán | |
| Bruno Cabral 5', 25', 72' Elián Suljic 15'Joaquín Amor 45' |
Tom Keqi 42' |
| 11 December 2025 Group stage | Manchester City | 3–1 | Barcelona | |
| Marlow Barrett 28' Ahmed Abarkane  35' (o.g.)Cadamarteri 84' |
Luca Perez 56' |
References
[edit]- ↑ RCN, Deportes (2025-12-09). "¿Qué es la Messi Cup? El torneo que se está jugando en Miami". Deportes RCN (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ↑ "What is the Messi Cup? Inter Miami's Lionel Messi announces new tournament with Barcelona and Manchester City as guests". World Soccer Talk. 2025-10-14. Archived from the original on 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ↑ "Lionel Messi anunció la creación de la Messi Cup, un torneo juvenil que tendrá la participación de dos clubes argentinos". LA NACION (in Spanish). 2025-10-17. Archived from the original on 2025-11-14. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ↑ "Messi inauguró el torneo sub 16 del que participan Newell's, River, y equipos de Europa y América". MDR NOTICIAS (in Spanish). 2025-12-09. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ↑ "LEO RECIBE EL PREMIO MVP DE LA MLS E INAUGURA LA MESSI CUP". messi.com. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ↑ juankochoaa (2025-12-09). "Messi inaugura la Messi Cup, torneo sub-16 con academias de equipos de Europa y América - EFE". EFE Noticias (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-12-09. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- 1 2 "Qué es la Messi Cup: equipos, fecha, hora y cómo ver en vivo". ESPN.com.ar (in Spanish). 2025-12-11. Archived from the original on 2025-12-12. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ↑ "Messi Cup 2025: fixture y resultados". ESPN.com.ar (in Spanish). 2025-12-13. Archived from the original on 2025-12-12. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
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