Miami, FL
Dave Hyde: The party starts again as Messi returns home to Inter Miami
FORT LAUDERDALE — The craziest part still to fathom, even after a season of it, as Inter Miami returns to view?
It’s the gap between them and him.
Between their world and his world.
Between where they can go and where he can take them.
“It was a trip I couldn’t have gone on except on this team,’’ Inter Miami forward Robert Taylor was saying Wednesday about the recently completed four-continent, five-exhibition junket where they proselytized in pink.
Or he proselytized to the soccer world, really. Messi.
Taylor grew up in Finland and, at 29, was trending to a good, if unremarkable, career until he landed at Inter Miami last season just before Messi signed. Now he plays alongside him. So much changed for him and his teammates.
Now they’re on the doorstep of the next Major League Soccer season with a simple friendly Thursday night in Fort Lauderdale against a small opponent. Except there’s nothing simple or small when Messi is involved, as he obviously is in this exhibition against his boyhood team from Rosario, Argentina.
He’s the reason this game happened. He’s why the Argentine media descended for this final tune-up to Inter Miami’s season opener next week. Just the comment that he’ll play Thursday night became an international headline.
Several dozen fans waited to get a drive-by glimpse of him leaving the team’s Fort Lauderdale facility, pleading with outstretched paraphernalia to sign, “Leo! Leo!”
The coach of the Newell’s Old Boys, Mauricio Larriera, said his team’s fans, “will want Newell’s to win and Messi to be the best player.”
The pregame news conference involved questions like: “I was just talking to a used car salesman from China who follows Messi around the world and …”
Messi, being Messi, wasn’t on hand to talk so Taylor did by proxy.
“You don’t get used to that, people traveling all over the world to watch,’’ Taylor said.
The soccer world doesn’t need Messi to talk in subtitles to his game. His public words are as rare and bland as the two he uttered (“Michelob Ultra”) in a Super Bowl commercial with Dan Marino and Jason Sudeikis.
So, what does he have to do this second year at Inter Miami — besides just show up to play?
That’s not a joke, either. Not at all. Inter Miami’s round-the-world trip showed as much when Messi sat out a game in Hong Kong. More than 40,000 people watched Inter Miami do a simple workout the day before.
But team co-owner David Beckham was booed while he tried to explain to Messi’s small injury to the crowd. Promoters returned half the $7.5 million gate to ticket holders. The Chinese state-run newspaper wrote an editorial questioning the, “integrity of Inter Miami and Messi himself,” when he played 30 minutes in Tokyo later that week and two games involving the Argentine national team in China were canceled.
That’s the price tag of Messi-sized fame.
“Leo had an inflamed adductor from the first game in Saudi Arabia, but it was not a serious injury, so we went day to day,’’ Inter Miami coach Tata Martinez said. “That is why he played 10 minutes in the second game. That’s why he did not play in Hong Kong.
“That’s why he played a little more in the game in Japan. (Thursday) he will likely play more minutes and if all goes at this rate, he will arrive in good form for the season opener.”
That opener next week against Real Salt Lake in Fort Lauderdale is the debut of the Four Amigos. Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and newly signed Luis Suarez once formed the heart of a powerhouse Barcelona team. Can they run the table on the MLS deep into their 30s?
“All our opponents will probably have added incentive because of the players we have,’’ Martino said. “But we also have high expectations because of the team we can put out there against every opponent.”
First, there’s this exhibition. It isn’t just Messi who first played there. Martino did, too.
“I never could have imagined as a young player with Newell’s that one day I would be here coaching this game,’’ he said.
The coach, too, is here because Messi wanted him here. It’s so many players who are just part of the ride. On Tuesday, dozens of fans stood waiting for Messi to drive by as Taylor walked by them after his news conference back to the facilities.
Cain and Kushner are launching a South Florida real estate joint venture, planning a luxury apartment tower in Edgewater for their first project, The Real Deal has learned.
London-based Cain, led by Jonathan Goldstein, and New York-based Kushner, led by Laurent Morali and Nicole Kushner Meyer, plan a 40-story, 364-unit project on Cain’s 1.5-acre site at 614 and 720 Northeast 27th Street in Miami, according to a news release. The property is near the Missoni Baia condo tower that Cain co-developed with Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group.
BDT & MSD Partners provided a $42 million loan for the project, which is in the pre-development phase. Construction is expected to start late next year, the release says.
The Cain-Kushner JV is targeting residential and mixed-use investments and developments in the tri-county region.
“We are looking at all opportunities that we think are sensible,” Goldstein said.
Their South Florida JV comes as the region is experiencing another influx of out-of-staters after the pandemic-era boom, only this time the in-migration is primarily of wealthy individuals and their companies amid the blue-to-red-state migration.
Yet, Cain and Kushner’s plans for Edgewater apartments come as the multifamily market has softened due to hefty deliveries in recent years. A record 18,600 units were completed in 2024, outpacing leasing that year by about 20 percent, CoStar Group data shows. Although construction starts have slowed, last year’s 12,718 unit completions still surpassed total leasing for the year by about 1,000 apartments.
It has led to slower lease-ups, more concessions and a drop in the average asking rents across South Florida.
Developers starting projects now have said demand will catch up by the time they finish their buildings, with many adding that South Florida remains a strong apartment market. Many are betting on luxury rentals, which CoStar’s data showed made up the bulk of leasing in recent years.
“We are big believers in South Florida and big believers in Miami,” Goldstein said.
Cain, backed by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, has been investing in South Florida for nearly a decade, with the JV in some ways marking its second chapter in the region.
Cain’s most recent project is the Delano Miami Beach renovation. The hotel, which closed in 2020, is expected to reopen in time for the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix early next month.
Aside from the Missoni Baia condo tower, Cain also partnered with OKO on the Una Residences condo tower in Brickell and the 57-story 830 Brickell office tower. The office building was completed in 2024 fully pre-leased, catching a demand surge during the pandemic-era in-migration of out-of-state companies to Miami. Cain also is an investor in Doronin’s hospitality firm Aman Group.
Kushner has a presence in Miami’s Edgewater, completing the 37-story, 420-unit apartment tower at 2000 Biscayne Boulevard in 2024, with plans for more residential development next-door at 1900 Biscayne Boulevard. It also purchased the 276-unit Hamilton apartment building at 555 Northeast 34th Street from Aimco.
Elsewhere, Kushner plans a 932-unit multifamily development at 300 West Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. It borrowed a $115 million construction loan last year for a luxury 68-unit apartment project in Surfside. And it scored approval in October for a 470-unit rental building and synagogue development near Hollywood’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
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The right-hander consistently set the tone early, either landing a first-pitch strike or inducing a foul
The Miami Heat are heading into another crucial offseason, and they MUST make changes. This team has been mediocre for the past few seasons and has been stuck in the Play-in Tournament. The Heat can’t currently compete with the way the roster is constructed. They need to trade for a star who can lead this team, and if a star becomes available, Miami will be involved. The real question is which direction actually makes the most sense.
The Heat could go after three potential targets this summer: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, and Donovan Mitchell. Who should Miami target? Let’s stack rank them based on fit, risk, and potential.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo: The Only Move That Changes Everything
The Miami Heat need to go all-in for Giannis. This is a trade that would completely reshape the franchise. Giannnis could potentially turn the Heat into a contender overnight. Even with his recent injury cutting his season short, nothing about his overall impact has changed. He still bends defenses in a way very few players can. Teams build entire game plans around simply trying to slow him down, and most of the time, it doesn’t work.
The Miami Heat have desperately needed a true superstar who can take over games late in crunch time. The Heat have been relying on undrafted players and role players to create and execute their offense. Giannis flips that instantly by creating advantages on his own, possession after possession.
I think the most interesting part will be pairing Giannis with Bam Adebayo. They would automatically become the best defensive frontcourt duo in the NBA. Giannis and Bam could both guard 1-5, and their switchability and rim protection would be elite. Offensively, Bam’s versatility allows Giannis to stay aggressive without needing to adjust his game too much.
The risk is obvious. Injuries have started to creep into the conversation, and committing everything to one player always carries weight. Still, Miami has never been a franchise that plays it safe. If Giannis is available, the conversation starts and ends there.
2. Donovan Mitchell: The Cleanest Basketball Fit
If Giannis is the bold swing, Mitchell is the move that makes the most basketball sense from top to bottom. At this stage of his career, Donovan Mitchell knows exactly who he is as a player. He can control tempo, create offense in isolation, and take over stretches of games when things stall out and that is something Miami has struggled with consistently.
This is less about transforming the roster and more about fixing a specific problem. The Heat have lacked a reliable perimeter engine. Mitchell fills that gap immediately. What makes him especially appealing is how easily he fits into different lineups. He doesn’t need the ball every possession to be effective, but he can handle that role when needed. That flexibility matters on a team that values structure as much as Miami does.
There’s also a timeline advantage here. Mitchell is younger than the other options and doesn’t come with the same long-term durability concerns. He gives Miami a clearer runway to build around, rather than a shorter window that demands immediate results. He may not bring the same overwhelming presence as Giannis, but he raises the overall level of the team in a way that feels sustainable.
3. Kawhi Leonard: Elite Talent With Too Many Variables
When Kawhi Leonard is available and healthy, he’s still one of the most controlled and efficient players in the league. His season with the Los Angeles Clippers was a reminder of that. Playing 65 games was a big step, and when he was on the floor, he looked like himself, methodical, physical, and impossible to speed up. From a pure basketball standpoint, he fits Miami’s identity. He defends, doesn’t force offense, and thrives in structured environments.
The hesitation comes from everything outside of that. Kawhi’s availability has been unpredictable for years, and even in seasons where he plays a high number of games, there’s always uncertainty about how things will hold up deep into a playoff run. Age adds another layer. Miami wouldn’t just be trading for a player; they’d be betting on a timeline that may already be shrinking. There’s no denying the upside. A healthy Kawhi still moves the needle in a big way. It’s just harder to justify that gamble compared to the other two options.
Final Take
Each path offers something different. Giannis is the all-in swing that could put Miami back in the championship conversation overnight. Mitchell is the calculated move that stabilizes the offense and fits long-term. Kawhi is the wildcard, still elite, but with more uncertainty than the Heat can comfortably ignore.
If Miami is serious about breaking out of the middle, they need to pick a direction and commit fully. Giannis is the dream, Mitchell is the smartest bet, and Kawhi is the toughest sell.
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