Messi Cup

2025 Messi Cup
Tournament details
CountryUnited States
CitiesMiami, Florida
VenueInter Miami CF Stadium
Date9 December – 14 December
Final positions
ChampionsArgentina River Plate
Runners-upSpain Atlético Madrid
Semifinalists
Tournament statistics
Matches played18
Top goal scorerArgentina Bruno Cabral (7)
Awards
Best playerArgentina Bruno Cabral
Best goalkeeperArgentina 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. The tournament is named after the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi.

The first edition was held in 2025 in the United States.

History

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!"

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.

Format

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.

Participating teams

Group A

Group B

Group Stage

Group A

9 December 2025 Group stage Chelsea England 4–2 Spain Atlético Madrid  
Sambou 16'
Grimwade 37'
Watson 46'
Ayinde 53'		 Serrano 27'
Obarrio 79'
9 December 2025 Group stage Inter Miami United States 4–0 Argentina Newell's Old Boys  
Leandro Padilla 3'
Nicolas Pineros 8'
Zidane Cadet 32', 72'
10 December 2025 Group stage Newell's Old Boys Argentina 3–3 England Chelsea  
Ciro Quizás 36'
Iane Romero 52', 59'		 Heze Grimwade 17'
Trey Faromo-Adebayo 51'
Watson 80+13' (pen.)
10 December 2025 Group stage Inter Miami United States 0–1 Spain Atlético Madrid  
Julen Sánchez 17'
11 December 2025 Group stage Chelsea England 4–1 United States Inter Miami  
Nicoll-Jazuli 20'
Heze Grimwade 35'
Andrew Pennie 60' (pen.)
Bilal Shah 80+5'		 Zidane Cadet 56'
11 December 2025 Group stage Atlético Madrid Spain 2–2 Argentina Newell's Old Boys  
Alexandru Grigorii 41'
Mauro Silva 48'		 Benjamín Gómez 47'
Bautista Arévalo 55'

Group B

9 December 2025 Group stage Barcelona Spain 2–2 Argentina River Plate  
Ruslan Mba 34'
Ahmed Abarkane 80'		 Bruno Cabral 60' (pen.)
Joaquín Amor 63'
9 December 2025 Group stage Manchester City England 3–0 Italy Inter Milán  
David Eze 39'
Raphael Aiyegbusi 49'
Xavier Parker 60'
10 December 2025 Group stage River Plate Argentina 1–2 England Manchester City  
F. Lopéz 4' X. Parker 58'
A. Thorton 66'
10 December 2025 Group stage Inter Milán Italy 0–3 Spain Barcelona  
Ignasi Bassas 18'
Ruslan Mba 48', 67'
11 December 2025 Group stage River Plate Argentina 5–1 Italy Inter Milán  
Bruno Cabral 5', 25', 72'
Elián Suljic 15'
Joaquín Amor 45'		 Tom Keqi 42'
11 December 2025 Group stage Manchester City England 3–1 Spain Barcelona  
Marlow Barrett 28'
Ahmed Abarkane red-colored football 35' (o.g.)
Caelan Cadamarteri 84'
David Eze Yellow card 76' Red card 80+2'		 Luca Perez 56'

Knockout stages

7th place match

13 December 2025 Newell's Old Boys Argentina 1–1
(3–1 p)		 Italy Inter Milán  
Iani Romero 41' Giovanni Rubortone red-colored football 12' (o.g.)
Penalties
Romero football with red X
Rubortone football with check mark
Contreras football with check mark
Díaz football with check mark		 football with red X Ferri
football with check mark Omini
football with red X Lucarelli
football with red X Keqi

5th place match

13 December 2025 Inter Miami United States 4–6 Spain Barcelona  
Zidane Cadet 27', 43'
Leandro Padilla 63'
Nicolas Piñeros 65'		 Ruslan Mba 6'
Alejandro Fernández 40'
Ahmed Abarkane 53'
Artem Rybak 18', 70', 79'

Semi-finals

13 December 2025 2025 Messi Cup Semi-finals Chelsea England 1–3 Argentina River Plate  
Watson 40+1' (pen.) Valentín Sayago 18'
Ramiro Álvarez 41'
Bruno Cabral 61'
13 December 2025 2025 Messi Cup Semi-finals Manchester City England 2–3 Spain Atlético Madrid  
Archie Thornton 18'
Xavier Parker 40+1'		 Alexandru Grigorii 8'
Aitor Pérez 36'
Daniel Serrano 76'

Third place match

14 December 2025 Chelsea England 1–2 England Manchester City  
Trey Faromo-Adebayo 40+1' Raphael Aiyegbusi 19', 33'

Final

14 December 2025 2025 Messi Cup Final River Plate Argentina 2–0 Spain Atlético Madrid Miami, Florida
18:00 ART (UTC-03:00) Bruno Cabral 28', 30'
Valentín Sayago Yellow card 13' Red card 43'		 Report Stadium: Chase Stadium
Referee: United States Jorge Escobar
Man of the Match: Bruno Cabral

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "LEO RECIBE EL PREMIO MVP DE LA MLS E INAUGURA LA MESSI CUP". messi.com. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. 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.
  8. ↑ "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.