Mascherano 'to be Inter Miami's next manager' with he to reunite with Messi

Javier Mascherano is reportedly set to be named the new manager of Inter Miami.

It means the former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder will reunite with fellow Argentine Lionel Messi in Florida next season.

According to Cesar Luis Merlo, Mascherano has reportedly signed a long-term contract with the MLS franchise.

He will also leave his position as manager of Argentina's under-20 team, where he coaches a number of Inter Miami's young prospects.

The 40-year old joined Liverpool in 2006 and played four seasons at Anfield where he formed part of a devastating midfield trio that also included Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.

Mascherano played with Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets during his eight seasons at Barcelona. During his time in Spain, Mascherano won five LaLiga titles and the Champions League twice.

Gerardo Martino resigned from the role earlier this week after a disappointing end to the season that saw them eliminated from the playoffs in the first round.

Martino, who guided Inter Miami to the best regular season record in Major League Soccer history this season, made the decision for personal reasons.

The 61-year-old Martino - who also coached Messi with Barcelona and Argentina's national team before reuniting with him in South Florida - gave no outward indication that he was thinking about leaving when the season ended earlier this month.

Inter Miami was 26-9-12 in MLS regular season matches in the Martino era, plus won its first two trophies: the Leagues Cup in 2023 and the Supporters Shield as the best MLS regular season team this year.

Martino agreed to a deal with Inter Miami in June 2023, then took charge of his first game a month later once the process of obtaining his work documentation was complete.

His hiring was one in a series of major moves for the club - along with the signings of, among others, Messi, Busquets, Alba and Suarez.

Martino was hired after Inter Miami fired Phil Neville in June 2023.

Mascherano is likely to face a hectic 2025. It's likely the team will venture out on another international preseason tour, like it did this season.

There's also the 34-match MLS slate and Inter Miami will be one of the teams in the Club World Cup that starts in June as well.

Inter Miami won't gather for training camp to start the 2025 season until January.