Messi's Ex-Teams and Premier League Giants Crushed in Race for Inaugural Messi Cup
River Plate from Argentina claimed victory in the first-ever Messi Cup, a youth tournament established by Lionel Messi this year for Under-16 squads, beating Atlético Madrid in Sunday's championship match.
Back in October, it was revealed that the iconic Inter Miami striker and his production firm 525 Rosario had developed a competition where "today's game [would] meet tomorrow's players."
Eight top clubs from around the world were selected to send their finest youth representatives to this tournament, which took place over six days from December 9-14 exclusively in Miami. Three participants had strong connections to Messi: his childhood Argentine club Newell's Old Boys, Barcelona where he spent most of his career, and his current team Inter Miami.
The Premier League representatives Manchester City and Chelsea also received invitations, while River Plate and Atlético Madrid advanced to the championship game.
The competition started with group play, dividing the eight clubs into two groups to ensure at least three matches against each other in round-robin style. Chelsea and City led Groups A and B respectively, losing only two points combined across three games played on back-to-back days from December 9-12. Atlético and River each secured second place to advance to Saturday's semifinals.
The English clubs couldn't sustain their excellent tournament opening. City equalized twice before eventually losing to Atlético while Chelsea suffered a 3-1 defeat to River.
This led to the championship final at Chase Stadium, the home venue where Messi has played with Inter Miami for the last two and a half years. River's Bruno Cabral netted two first-half goals to seal the title match, following up a spectacular strike with the outside of his foot to add a second just 30 seconds after halftime resumed.
The tournament's official website outlines ambitious future plans. "The vision is to scale internationally with feeder tournaments, digital-first storytelling, and future editions in other host cities," it states. However, that same platform hasn't even refreshed the match details that have since concluded.
Messi wasn't present in Miami to witness the tournament action. Instead, the eight-time Ballon d'Or recipient was avoiding rioting supporters during a chaotic India tour that didn't conclude until Monday.
2025 Messi Cup Results
Group A
Team | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|
1. Chelsea | +5 | 7 |
2. Atlético Madrid | -1 | 4 |
3. Inter Miami | 0 | 3 |
4. Newell's Old Boys | -4 | 2 |
Group B
Team | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|
1. Man City | +6 | 9 |
2. River Plate | +3 | 4 |
3. Barcelona | +1 | 4 |
4. Inter Milan | -10 | 0 |
Placement playoffs
Fixture | Result |
|---|---|
5th-place playoff | Inter Miami 4–6 Barcelona |
7th-place playoff | Newell's Old Boys 1–1 (3–1 pens) Inter Milan |