Inter Miami has a key decision to make. Manager Javier Mascherano has parted ways due to “personal reasons,” after a slow 3-1-3 start to the 2026 MLS season and elimination from the Concacaf Champions Cup.
While Mascherano led the team to the 2025 MLS Cup, he won’t be the man in charge of defending that title. At the same time, his “personal reasons” for leaving the club match the same public reasoning that 2024 Supporters’ Shield-winning manager, Tata Martino, cited in his departure from Inter Miami in late 2024, prior to Mascherano’s hiring.
Now, Messi’s “footballing dad” Guillermo Hoyos takes over on an interim basis, stepping onto the touchline from his sporting director role with the club. Yet it still leaves Miami with a massive decision, with the next boss potentially being the last in Lionel Messi’s illustrious club career.
Here, Sports Illustrated takes a look at seven managers who Miami could consider for the role, from least exciting to most enticing.
7. Guillermo Hoyos
Guillermo Hoyos will get consideration for the permanent role, as he moves from the club’s sporting director position to an interim touchline position.
Since his arrival, Hoyos has been a key figure, overseeing Miami’s professional development and recruitment while navigating the unique challenges and complexities of the MLS.
A former player, he has served as a manager and sporting director across the world in Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Chile, Greece and Cyprus, with his managed clubs including Universidad de Chile in Chile and Atlas in Mexico.
Yet, his connection with Messi makes him a key contender for the permanent role, having helped the legendary Argentine through his early years with FC Barcelona.
“He was my footballing dad,” Messi said of Hoyos in 2010. “He’s helped me a lot since I came to Barça. He was always with me, showing me things and bringing me to where I am today ... I’m grateful that he is my footballing godfather.”
6. Matías Almeyda
Matías Almeyda isn’t a new name to MLS, having coached the San Jose Earthquakes from 2018-2022, but he could be fit for a return to the league with Miami, after spells with AEK Athens and La Liga’s Sevilla.
The 52-year-old Argentine has never coached Messi. Still, he would bring an edge of Concacaf knowledge, having led Liga MX’s Chivas Guadalajara to the Concacaf Champions League title in 2018, a tournament in which Miami has faltered several times, despite outwardly prioritizing.
5. Marcelo Gallardo
Marcelo Gallardo is just a call away, after stepping down from his managerial role with Argentine giants River Plate in February, ending the club legend’s second stint on the touchline, which flanked a short spell with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad from 2023-2024.
While Gallardo has never coached Messi, the two have become familiar through Argentina. Over a decade with River Plate, the now 52-year-old coached the team to the 2021 Primera División title, while also winning the 2015 and 2018 Copa Libertadores, the 2015 Club World Cup and the 2017 and 2019 Supercopa Argentina titles, among others.
He has also been linked to the Herons before, with 2019 reports suggesting he spoke with the club before the team landed on Phil Neville as its inaugural head coach, well before Messi entered the picture in 2023. It doesn’t hurt that he played briefly with D.C. United in 2008, either.
4. Wilfried Nancy
If Inter Miami wants to go with a manager who knows how to win in MLS, then Wilfried Nancy is the man for the job. The French-Canadian is available after a dismal eight-game stint with Celtic FC, but previously found immense success with Columbus Crew, leading the team to the 2023 MLS Cup, 2024 Leagues Cup and 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup final, all after winning the Canadian Championship with CF Montréal in 2021.
With Montréal, his first top managerial job, Nancy took over from Thierry Henry, who had left the team without a clear tactical identity, marking a short-lived career on the touchline, before taking on analyst responsibilities. In those years, he helped usher in young stars Alistair Johnston and Ismael Kone, who have gone on to play key roles for Canada’s national team, Celtic and U.S. Sassuolo.
After parting ways with Montréal, he ushered in the defining MLS side of the early 2020s, leaning on Cucho Hernández, Diego Rossi and Darlington Nagbe to play an intense and possession-based, attacking style that made Columbus one of the league’s most dominant sides and opened doors for Hérnandez in Europe, as well as Max Arfsten and Aidan Morris with the USMNT.
3. Xavi
Any new Miami coach will need to get the best out of Messi, as Mascherano did in 2025, leading his former teammate to back-to-back MLS MVPs, his first MLS Golden Boot and the club’s crowning MLS Cup moment. Considering the success, could Miami go for another former Messi teammate, turned manager?
One of the game’s greatest midfielders and a player who crossed over with Messi’s best years in Spain, Xavi could be it. The key question would be whether he actually changes anything in Miami’s setup, or simply serves as a new voice with a similar message and approach to Mascherano.
Xavi’s tenure with Barcelona was relatively underwhelming for a club with such high standards, winning the 2022-23 La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup, but falling short in other seasons as well as in the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. Still, he could be the most natural transition fit for Miami’s final Messi era.
2. Lionel Scaloni
One of the most formative coaches in Messi’s career, Argentina national team boss Lionel Scaloni, could be in line for Miami. He has already had immense success with Messi, with the 2022 World Cup title and two Copa Américas, solidifying Messi’s legacy on the international stage.
While a move to MLS would be a step down from leading La Albiceleste since 2018, a move away from the international game seems plausible. In November 2024, he admitted to considering resigning ahead of the 2026 World Cup, and since then, he has been extremely emotional when asked about Messi’s waning international career.
He is far from done with his coaching career, but could he be enticed by another chance at winning trophies with Messi?
1. Pep Guardiola
Perhaps the least likely, given Guardiola’s deal with Manchester City is set to expire at the end of the 2027 season. After likely falling short of the Premier League title in 2025-26, there may be a desire to change things up at the Etihad Stadium. As such, the Herons could approach him with one year remaining on his deal, potentially leaving Hoyos in charge until after the 2026 World Cup.
Guardiola has a strong history with Messi, having coached the Argentine in 219 games from 2008-2012, as Messi began a dominant run that eventually led him to eight Ballon d’Or trophies. Under the Spanish manager, who became famous for the tiki-taka style, Messi scored 211 goals and 81 assists, leading the Catalan side to two UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles and further accomplishments.
If he were to land in MLS, Guardiola would instantly become the highest-profile managerial signing the league has ever seen.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Seven Potential Replacements for Javier Mascherano at Inter Miami—Ranked.
