Inter Miami: head coach Gerardo Martino resigns due to “personal reasons”

Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas says the club will announce Martino’s successor “in the next few days” and another Argentine, Javier Mascherano, has been closely linked with him.

The former Barcelona and Liverpool midfielder is a former teammate of Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi and striker Luis Suarez.

“I’m not going to discuss names,” Mas added. “We are very close to completing the process, we will announce a new coach in the coming days.

“By Tuesday we had identified three final candidates. We made the decision on who we want the day before yesterday and will announce in the next few days.”

Inter Miami were bottom of the MLS standings, having lost 13 of their 18 matches, when Martino was named as Phil Neville’s successor in July 2023.

He quickly improved their fortunes by winning the League Cup and continued that success in 2024 as Inter Miami set the MLS single-season points record en route to winning the Supporters’ Shield.

However, they subsequently fell short in that season’s postseason playoffs, losing to Atlanta United in the first round.

Mas said Messi “had his input” into the process and he wanted the Argentine striker to feel comfortable with the new appointment, but he was not given veto power.

Messi’s contract expires at the end of the 2025 campaign, but Mas said he “fully expects” the 37-year-old will still be at Inter Miami when the club moves to its new stadium in 2026.

The club also controversially qualified for next year’s Club World Cup after winning the MLS Supporters Shield that season for the team with the best regular season record.