Tata Martino done at Inter Miami after record MLS season with Messi

Inter Miami head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino is stepping down weeks after leading the MLS franchise to a league-record 74 points in the regular season.

Martino had another year remaining on his contract. He's leaving for personal reasons, sources told GiveMeSport's Tom Bogert.

Miami won the Supporters Shield as the team with the best MLS record but ended its season on a disappointing note, losing to No. 9 seed Atlanta United in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Martino joined the club in June 2023, just two weeks before Lionel Messi announced his move to MLS. Former Barcelona players Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez eventually joined Messi in Miami, recreating the core of the group that won trophy after trophy with the Catalan side.

Martino coached all but one of those players during his only season at Barcelona in 2013-14. Suarez joined the club the following season.

That familiarity created the backbone of one of the best sides in MLS history. Inter Miami scored a regular-season high of 79 goals while accruing the largest points total in league history, beating the previous record set in 2021 by the New England Revolution by a single point.

Miami also won the 2023 Leagues Cup under Martino's watch.

Despite falling short of playoff success, Miami earned an invitation to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The end-of-season tournament will feature the best 32 teams from each of FIFA's continental confederations and kick off at Hard Rock Stadium on June 15.