Inter Miami is slipping. According to ESPN's latest MLS Power Rankings, the club built around Lionel Messi is no longer commanding the top tier of the league, a slide that carries real consequences as the Eastern Conference playoff race enters its most unforgiving stretch.
For most of the season, Miami's presence near the summit of any power ranking felt automatic — a reflection not just of Messi's individual brilliance but of the expectation that a squad assembled with that kind of star power should dominate. That assumption is being tested now. Other Eastern Conference sides have not waited around for Miami to rediscover its best form, and the gap between the Herons and the conference's most consistent clubs is closing.
The timing is brutal. Playoff positioning in MLS rewards consistency above all else, and a team that drifts through the middle weeks of the season can find itself scrambling for seeding — or worse, scrambling for a postseason spot entirely. Miami has the talent to correct course, but talent and form are two different currencies, and right now the club is running short on the latter.
Messi's influence on this team remains singular. When he is sharp, Miami is capable of dismantling anyone in the league. But elite players at 37 require careful management, and any dip in his availability or sharpness radiates through the entire attacking structure. A team constructed so completely around one player carries that structural risk into every fixture.
What makes Miami's situation worth watching closely is the broader statement it makes about MLS competitiveness. The league has spent years insisting that no single marquee signing can simply purchase a championship, and the current standings offer some validation of that argument. Clubs with deeper squads, more balanced tactical identities and stronger home form are the ones consolidating power in both conferences right now.
Miami still has enough quality to right the ship. Messi at even 80 percent remains a problem no MLS defense has consistently solved. But the margin for drift has narrowed, and the teams climbing the power rankings around them are not going to be charitable about it.