Will Inter Miami be even better in 2026?

Lionel Messi is a MLS Cup winner. That might rank lowly on the GOAT’s list of career achievements, but it was clear in the Argentine’s celebrations after the 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Saturday’s championship game just how much this meant. Even for Messi, this was more than just another trophy. This was a ‘mission accomplished’ moment.

For Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, it was a ‘game over’ moment. Both legends now enter retirement as MLS Cup winners and as part of an Inter Miami success story. Yet the South Floridians carried Alba and Busquets in the final stages of their careers. Alba was a defensive liability and while Busquets lost a yard of pace a long time ago, the midfielder had the turning circle of the Exxon Valdez in 2025.

This is where Inter Miami might get even better over the off-season. Amid the celebrations at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Jorge Mas revealed the club has replacements for Alba and Busquets lined up with former Tottenham Hotspur left back Sergio Reguilón reportedly on the radar of the MLS Cup winners.

The way Inter Miami rolled through the playoffs to MLS Cup glory should shape the club’s transfer strategy for 2026 and beyond. With younger, fitter players around Messi, Javier Mascherano was able to set up his team to be more aggressive against the ball and more energetic with it. Find more of those players and lean into that approach further and there could be even more reason to fear Inter Miami next year.

Have Celtic set up Nancy for failure?

Walking out as Celtic manager for the first time on Sunday, Wilfried Nancy might never before have experienced anything like the rousing reception he received from his new fans. After a hiring process that took longer than anyone anticipated when Nancy was first identified as the Scottish champions’ first pick to replace Brendan Rodgers, it was a deafening welcome. Against Hearts in a top-of-the-table encounter, though, those cheers quickly became boos in a 2-1 loss in which Celtic’s lone goal came in stoppage time.

Those boos were not necessarily for Nancy. He only two training sessions with his new players before Sunday’s match. But boos and general disgruntlement, verging on outright revolt, against Celtic’s board which has been blamed for the team’s struggles so far this season.

Those struggles can be traced back to the summer transfer window, in which Celtic allowed several first team figures to leave without adequate replacements being signed in their place. (Supporters say the negligence goes further back than that.)

Ultimately, close to €15m/$17.5m was spent on wingers (Sebastian Tounekti, Michel-Ange Baliskwisha and Benjamin Nygren) in a late attempt to salvage something from the summer. Nancy, however, doesn’t use wingers. His favoured 3-4-2-1 shape is already a talking point, as is his mini tactics board that was repeatedly used to communicate with Celtic’s confused players during Sunday’s match.

Nancy has inherited a less-than-stellar squad. Worse still, it might be a squad that is ill-suited to his ideas and approach. Sunday was a bad start and it won’t get any easier against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday and St Mirren in Sunday’s League Cup final. He’s about to discover how this isn’t a normal job.

Is Salah finished as a Liverpool player?

Mohamed Salah had something to say after Liverpool’s latest disappointing result on Saturday and he didn’t hold back. After spending all 90 minutes of the 3-3 draw against Leeds United on the bench, Salah revealed his relationship with Arne Slot has broken down, and aired his belief that Liverpool has thrown him under the bus. “I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame,” he said in a seven-minute rant.

It may have been something more deliberate than a rant. The last time Salah spoke to the media in such a blunt way after a match it was to twist Liverpool’s arm in contract negotiations. Salah, possibly guided by his agent, knew the leverage he had at the time and used it to land a new two-year extension.

This time, though, Salah might have overplayed his hand. He has been a shadow of the player that broke all sorts of scoring records in the Premier League last season. Lethargic and disinterested, Salah has been dropped by Slot because Liverpool are better without him right now. If Salah’s comments were designed to force a choice between him and the manager, there’s not much recent evidence to suggest Liverpool should pick the former.

Liverpool’s transition into a post-Salah age began with the offseason additions of Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz. Their integration so far has been far from smooth, but the true consequence of Salah’s comments could come in how they accelerate a process for Liverpool that started in the summer.