Former teammates turned rivals: Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy could be Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s biggest obstacle to the MLS Cup

In the final game of the 2019-20 La Liga season, Barcelona defeated Alaves 5-0, and in that match, Riqui Puig earned his first La Liga assist for the Catalan giants. He played a simple, yet accurate, pass to the feet of Lionel Messi, who danced past a defender and the goalkeeper to slot home for their second goal of the game.

It was the only time they ever connected for a goal on the pitch, and for Puig, it was just one of 57 total senior appearances he would make for the club. Messi, meanwhile, made 778 across his storied career in Spain.

It was a brief overlap in time, a small moment in each footballer’s career. However, it was a moment of impact; and now, four years on, both Puig and Messi craft their trade in MLS. Instead of feeding each other passes in and around the opposition box as teammates, though, they’re direct competitors who stand in the way of each other achieving greatness in 2024; lifting MLS Cup.

Messi and Inter Miami are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Galaxy are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, they largely say on the top seed for most of the season, letting it slip from their grasp on Decision Day.

Seeding wouldn’t matter much if the two teams were to face off in the MLS Cup though.

The South Beach club lifted the MLS Supporters’ Shield in record-breaking fashion , and both Messi and Luis Suarez are 2024 MLS MVP nominees. Barring something unexpected, Miami will host the MLS Cup final. So considering all of that, who will stop them from storming the playoffs and lifting the championship trophy?

Well, the answer – four years on from that shared moment between Puig and Messi – might just be the Galaxy, who began their MLS Cup journey with a 5-0 smashing of the Colorado Rapids in game one of their Best-of-3 series.

GOAL looks into Messi’s success in 2024, what makes LA so special this season, and how a potential meeting in MLS Cup could be awaiting the ex-Barcelona teammates.

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  Combining in Catalonia

  Puig, now 25, was a La Masia graduate during his youthful days in Spain. He joined the famous academy in 2013, progressing through the various youth teams into the reserves of the first-team. In December 2018, he signed a contract with the Spanish side that would keep him with the club through 2021. However, his La Liga debut would not arrive until April 2019, and his promotion to the senior team would not come until October 2020, when he was handed the No. 12 shirt on the first-team roster.

  In January 2021, he scored a famous winning goal in a penalty shootout against Real Sociedad in the semifinals of the Supercopa De Espana, a 3-2 victory in kicks from the spot for La Blaugrana and Puig. 11 days later in a La Liga match against Elche, he scored his first senior regulation goal, heading in a cross from Dutch international Frenkie De Jong.

  In total, Puig went on to make 42 senior appearances in La Liga for Barcelona, scoring twice and recording two assists across 1,421 minutes of action.

  His best performances, however, arrived after Messi departed the club for Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021. During their time in Spain, though, Messi was a part of the Barcelona roster for 40 of his 58-total appearances across all competitions. Their moment together, though, was in that match against Alaves. Puig, full of excitement, sprinted to the Argentine and hugged him after the goal, leaping into the air with the cheekiest of smiles on his face.

  In that contest, Puig, then 20, set a Barcelona record becoming the youngest player since Thiago Alcantara in 2011 to record two assists in a match for the La Blaugrana, with his other assist being an Nelson Semedo goal.

  It was an evening where Puig announced his presence on the global stage, and the world suddenly turned their eyes to what many thought was the next superstar to come out of La Masia. However, that never happened. Messi departed as the club fell into financial hardships in 2021, and one year later, Puig was also a victim of those hardships, departing the club on a shocking free transfer to the LA Galaxy and MLS.

  Since joining MLS, Puig has become one of MLS’ elite attractions, capitalizing on the potential he’s shown earlier in La Liga.

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    MLS’ midfield maestro

    Since arriving to Major League Soccer in 2022, Riqui Puig has been one of, if not the, best central midfielders in the league. He’s been nothing short of incredible for the Galaxy, crafting creativity in the middle of the park with all of those around him. The ball? Glued to his boot on the run. The pass? Delivered on a string.

    Puig, an MLS MVP nominee in 2023 and 2024, has been crucial to the resurgence of the Galaxy, a storied club who have not won a trophy in over a decade. Their last trophy came at the 2014 MLS Cup, with a roster fielding the likes of both Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan.

    Things are different now, though. The Galaxy are the best they’ve been in 10 years, and Puig is spearheading their sensational campaign.

    “Always when you come from Barcelona, the expectations are really high,” Puig told CBS Sports ahead of their playoff opener against the Rapids. “When I come from Barcelona, I think that people are waiting for something of me that I cannot give to the fans, you know? I think that I’m trying to make goals, make assists and I think this year, it was one of the best seasons of my life and I’m really happy and really proud.”

    The Spaniard scored 13 goals and recorded 15 assists across 29 matches in 2024, recording 28 goal-contributions during that span. His expected goals (xG) across the campaign was 8.6, and he surpassed that tally, nearly doubling it across the regular season, too.

    In his central midfield role, the 25-year-old stood out from the rest of MLS’ midfielders.

    With 3,240 touches on the ball, he led the rest of the league in that category, with Houston Dynamo’s Artur coming in second with 2,768 touches – nearly 400 less than Puig. The same duo topped the league in passes-completed, with Puig having 5,919, however, Artur had nearly 900 less completions than him, with 5,099 completed. Factor in that the Galaxy’s Maya Yoshida and Marco Delgado came third and fourth in that category, it comes to no surprise that LA were MLS’s top passing team in 2024 with 20,191 passes.

    The composer of that midfield, Puig was nothing short of brilliant, and virtually no coach or XI figured out how to stop him during the regular season as a result.

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    The king of South Beach

    As strong as Puig was, he isn’t considered one of the MVP favorites. And that is largely due to the otherworldly performances from Messi this season.

    The Argentine, a 2024 MLS MVP finalist, scored 20 goals and recorded 16 assists in just 19 matches this season, only 15 of which were starts. His outstanding attacking numbers helped the Herons not only lift the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield, but also helped them clinch a spot in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, as well.

    After his 2021 departure from Barcelona, and his brief stint in Paris in between, he joined Miami in 2023 on a free transfer – one year after Puig’s arrival. However, the two did not meet during the 2023 season, rather, their first time clashing on the pitch came in 2024 on LA’s Opening Day of the campaign. It was a contest where Puig saw an early penalty attempt saved by Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender, and in dramatic fashion, a late equalizing goal from Messi in the second minute of stoppage-time secured Miami a point in a 1-1 draw between the two sides.

    Ahead of the match, Puig warned his squad about his ex-Barcelona teammate, someone he dubbed “the best player in the world” before the contest, but last-gasp heroics from the Argentine denied the Galaxy an early-season victory.

    Nine months on, and now, a potential meeting between the two sides may be on the cards again, but only if they can make their way to MLS’ championship game. For Messi though, just over one year after his arrival to South Beach, he has been the face of North America’s top flight, and an MLS Cup win would be the crown on his head to go with it.

    The bounce back

    Puig and the Galaxy have had a 2024 remember, rising from 13th in 2023 to being second this year. Their confidence is riding high – and rightfully so. They’ve defeated every single Western Conference playoff team this season, and in their lone match against Messi and Miami, they earned a point.

    And one year ago? Fans of the club couldn’t fathom believing that.

    It’s a complete 180-degree turn from 2023, where they finished 13th in the Western Conference, missing the postseason despite having an MVP-caliber midfielder like Puig run the show. Now, one year on from that disappointing campaign, it’s a new team and a new Puig. Factor in their smart offseason transfer business, acquiring the likes of Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec, and things are better than ever.

    “I think that this year, we have really good pieces, we [made] good transfers,” Puig added while speaking to CBS on Oct. 24 “Also with [Gabriel] Pec and [Joseph] Paintsil, I think that the team improved a lot, and for me, it’s more easy because I have runners up top and that’s more easy for me. Last year, we had a lot of injuries and I think that this year, the injuries and all the atmosphere we have at Galaxy, it’s better and we improve a lot and for sure with Greg [Vanney], I think he’s making a really good job and we understand what he wants inside the field and we’re really happy because we are playing really good and for sure, we are winning. That is important.”
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    The Three Ps

    Paintsil, a Ghana international, has been electric on the wing in 2024, bringing a newfound pace to the Galaxy’s attack while Pec, a former Brazil youth international, has been a revelation on the pitch. Pec, 23, has burst onto the scene in MLS in his debut season scoring 16 goals and recording 14 assists, and as a result of his attacking prowess, has been named a finalist for MLS Newcomer of the Year.

    The duo, who line up opposite of each other on the wings with Puig in the attacking midfield, have created one of the most terrifying partnerships in MLS in the final-third. The final puzzle piece, Dejan Jovelic, has had a career year at center-forward with 15 goals and four assists. The Galaxy’s pass-heavy and possession-based play has allowed all four of them to blossom around each other, but Puig in particular has turned a new leaf with his performances.

    “I think that when I made the [move], all the people say that maybe I’m a little bit crazy because I’m really young and I come to a league that is improving and that is growing up but I think it is one of the best movements that I make in my career,” Puig added speaking to CBS. “I’m really proud that I made this decision and I think that a lot of players, also young players now, can see that MLS [is] in a good level and growing a lot. I think that a lot of young players want to come here and to chase the American dream that they say and for sure, I think that it’s really important for us to bring people and young players here to MLS.”

    The Spaniard took a gamble on coming to the U.S. after breaking out as a 20-year-old midfielder in Spain with Barcelona, but that gamble is starting to pay dividends, and an MLS Cup? It would be the silverware he needs to prove it was worth the risk.

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    The road to the Cup…

    So now? It’s the journey to MLS Cup.

    MLS’ Round One is a Best-of-3 series, and both the Galaxy and Miami began things with a victory at their home ground. LA against the Rapids, and the Herons with a 2-1 victory over Atlanta United. If both clubs find a result this weekend, they’ll advance to their respective Conference Semifinal match. Then, it’s just two wins and you clinch a berth in MLS Cup 2024.

    Things are now in motion, and a reunion for Puig and Messi may just be on the cards, if both clubs can play their hands correctly over the next few weeks.

    For the Argentine, lifting the championship trophy would put this Herons‘ roster in the books as the best MLS has ever seen, while individually, it would be his 47th career club trophy.

    For Puig, though, it feels as if there’s more than just silverware and the history books on the line for him. Lifting MLS Cup, one decade on from LA’s last, would help him finally prove to the world that his shock MLS transfer at a young age was the correct one.

    Now we wait, patiently, for the next moment of impact in the storied career of Messi, and the budding career of Puig.