Lionel Messi's former Barcelona teammate in line to manage him at Inter Miami

Gerardo Martino recently resigned as the MLS side's manager after failing to win the MLS Cup with Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at his disposal.

Now, David Beckham has reportedly secured another former Nou Camp star for his franchise, with Argentine journalist Cesar Luis Merlo claiming Mascherano has agreed a long-term deal to become the new boss.

The former defender left Liverpool in 2010 to join the Catalan club where he played for eight years and made 203 appearances.

From 2010 to 2018, Barcelona won two Champions Leagues and five La Liga titles.

He also played alongside Messi for Argentina, coming awfully close to World Cup triumph in 2014, but lost to Germany in the finals thanks to an extra-time Mario Gotze winner.

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In November 2020, Mascherano announced his retirement and two years later moved into a managerial role for the Argentina Under-20 side.

He managed at the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2023 U-20 World Cup where his side struggled on both occasions.

Mascherano could not progress past the group stages in France and was knocked out by Nigeria in the round of 16 in the youth World Cup.

Prior to the international break, Inter Miami were knocked out of the MLS playoffs with a shocking defeat to Atlanta United.

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Many football fans claimed that Messi had lost his passion for club football but evidently they were wrong as he stormed off the pitch alongside his team.

It was a reaction that led to criticism from MLS legend Landon Donovan, who questioned Messi's sportsmanship.

On a recent podcast episode of Unfiltered Soccer with Tim Howard, Donovan said: "Just shake their hands and say congratulations.

"Messi walked right off the field and maybe in the locker room they came out and said congrats or whatever and by the way, your fans are out there too, at least congratulate them on a great season and thank them for all the support they've had."

The Argentine later posted on Instagram and captioned his post: "A season ended in which we continued to grow as a club and, although we achieved some goals, we wanted more.

"Thanks to all the people who joined and supported us. Now let's get ready to come back stronger next year."

Mascherano has a big task on his hands to better the previous efforts of Martinez, whose side broke records on their way to winning the Supporters' Shield.

Inter Miami will be back in action during February as the MLS schedule differs to most European leagues starting and ending in winter.

Another former teammate of Messi, Xavi Hernandez, was rumoured to join the Florida based team but remains without a side since his departure from Barcelona where he won the 2022/23 Spanish title.