MIAMI -- Disbelief dawned upon more than 20,000 fans at Chase Stadium on Saturday night when the referee blew the final whistle and ended Inter Miami's 2024 MLS season. The favorites to win the MLS Cup crashed out of the playoffs in the first round, losing to Atlanta United in the best-of-three series.

How could a team that concluded the regular season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, with 34 fewer points than Miami registered, overpower a lineup captained by Lionel Messi and supported by Luis Suárez?

Although Miami's brilliance in attack often overshadowed their weaknesses, signs of a potential downfall emerged long before Saturday night.

Bitten by the injury bug

Inter Miami saw initial signs of struggle before their 2024 MLS season began in February, with issues emerging during the extensive preseason campaign. Players logged more than 28,000 miles in the air, across three continents, and trained on some questionable surfaces.

"This year I didn't have [a good preseason] because we had a lot of traveling from one place to another," Messi said in October. "Which was what the club needed, but it wasn't a good preseason."

The weeks-long tour of Central America and Asia provided the club with global exposure and gave fans an opportunity to see the Herons, but it came at a cost.

Midfielder Facundo Farías, who contributed three goals and two assists in 11 promising matches after joining Miami in July 2023, suffered an ACL tear during the first preseason friendly against El Salvador. He was ruled out of the entire 2024 campaign before it had even begun.

By March 30, little more than a month into the regular season, Miami had played 15 matches: seven friendlies, six in league play and two in the Concacaf Champions Cup. On that date, Inter had more players listed as unavailable on the league's injury report (seven) than any other club in MLS.

To that point in the year, eight players (including Messi, Farías, breakout Homegrown star Benjamin Cremaschi, defensive stalwart Serhiy Kryvtsov and Argentina U23 midfielder Federico Redondo) had already missed at least one game through injury and combined for 38 absences.

The injuries stemmed from different issues, but several players experienced exhaustion and muscular burnout after just six weeks of the 2024 season. The calendar hadn't yet turned to April and the club had already cited "load management" as the reason for some of Messi's absences.

It didn't get any better as the campaign unfolded.

Messi, Farías, Redondo and standout 2023 midfield signing Diego Gómez all would miss at least 10 matches through injury. All told, Miami players accumulated 184 matches' worth of injury absences, with 17 of the 26 players the squad would most count on sitting out at least one game while returning to fitness.

Beyond the obvious day-to-day impact of those absences, the long injury list forced Martino and sporting director Chris Henderson into the transfer market. The two suddenly felt the need to make emergency signings to combat the longtime absences of Farías and Nicolás Freire (ACL), while also muting the immediate dangers of a backline without Kryvtsov and Tomás Avilés, whose availability came and went throughout the season.

Marcelo Weigandt, a figure who saw little time on the pitch with Boca Juniors, joined with the expectation that he would make an instant impact. MLS SuperDraft additions Yannick Bright and Leo Afonso earned contracts and appeared for a combined 1,870 first-team minutes, a scenario that would've seemed improbable on draft day considering Inter's loft expectations.

"We had to replace important players with two players we selected 60 days ago in a draft," Martino said in April. "I want to have all my players. The sensation is like I'm chasing after the carrot, 'Next week we'll have everyone,' and [Gómez] falls. 'Next week we'll have everyone,' and it's someone else. This is what's happening."

The rest of the season saw a similar pattern. Martino found short-term fixes to navigate immediate concerns, but those solutions came with long-term consequences.

Although the inclusion of Messi, Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba often masked problems, the team faced a harsh reality: the unbalanced approach to roster construction meant Miami lacked the depth needed for a multi-tournament campaign and generated an overdependence on the former Barcelona quartet.

Inter Miami could not keep up with the demands of the Concacaf Champions Cup, falling to Monterrey in the quarterfinals. Winners of the Leagues Cup last year, the Herons crashed out of the 2024 edition in the round of 16. Then there was the Round One capitulation in the MLS Cup playoffs.

Miami's band-aid solution to combat their injury absences proved inefficient. The squad's revolving door of starters generated inconsistency and defensive errors that regularly cost them.

"It's clear that playing a 34-game tournament allows you things that 90 minutes does not," Martino said on Saturday night. "The round was then limited to Saturday's 90 minutes only, and in that time you have to live with mistakes in a different way, there are no new opportunities."

That's what played out in the decisive Game 3 against Atlanta. In order to replace an injured Busquets and Bright in midfield -- Busquets' fitness was a topic of concern right up until kickoff -- Martino opted for a lineup that forced the attack-minded Redondo to take Busquets' place at the base of midfield, and winger Matías Rojas into a central role.

Although the players initially managed well, the game plan crumbled once the need for substitutes arose. Suddenly, forward Leo Campana and winger Robert Taylor found themselves in the heart of Miami's engine room. The Herons' unbalanced roster manifested itself as a Frankenstein-like 4-3-3 with Suárez and Messi desperately leading a makeshift XI full of players operating out of position.

The final 30 minutes of the contest saw Inter Miami scramble to string passes together as players struggled to establish connections, while Messi and Suárez saw their roles limited by Atlanta. With the two forwards struggling to make an impact, the rest of the team could not step up.

Without injuries and at their best, Inter Miami undoubtedly boast the best roster in MLS. The club saw moments of brilliance and beautifully crafted goals that led to the Supporters' Shield and the record for most points recorded in a single season.

Although the regular season proved forgiving of Miami's constant injury issues and uncertain lineups, the playoffs were not. In a win-or-go home situation, the club's lopsided roster cost them.

The supporting cast comes up short

"We've made a lot of mistakes that we can avoid, because many times they were silly mistakes to put it nicely," Messi said last month. "That cannot happen during the playoffs, because the mistakes can cost you and get you eliminated."

How prophetic the GOAT's words proved to be.

Throughout the 2024 season, Miami struggled defensively. The team only managed six clean sheets in 34 games and conceded two or more goals in 12 games. Inter conceded 49 goals across the season, the most by a team that won the Supporters' Shield since the Seattle Sounders let in 50 in 2014.

The Herons' impressive attack often masked the deficiencies of the backline, as Messi or Suárez so often saved the day. Messi scored nine goals this season when Inter trailed, while Suárez contributed another four. The rest of the team combined for nine. The pair also netted eight match-winners, accounting for 27% of Miami's most decisive goals in 2024.

When the greats couldn't perform, though, the team's weaknesses came to the fore.

Miami fell to humiliating losses in the absences of Messi and Suárez, like the 4-0 defeat to the New York Red Bulls and the 6-1 hammering at the hands of FC Cincinnati. The Herons also struggled when opponents found a way to limit the production of their No. 9 and No. 10, as evidenced on Saturday night.

Can Miami win it all in Messi's final season?

The key to winning MLS Cup in 2025 will be found in lessons learned throughout 2024: limiting preseason and more-deliberate roster building.

The team will participate in several tournaments throughout 2025, including MLS, Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup and the Club World Cup. To navigate those competitions, Miami need to maximize their depth and get their supporting cast to reach their potential.

The team already announced a friendly against Orlando City SC on Feb. 14 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Herons cannot afford to wear out players ahead of what looks like a grueling 2025, so no matter how tempting the revenue or exposure may be, the club must learn from this season's errors.

As for the squad, Henderson and Martino will need to reevaluate the roster and seek out figures that enable options for rotation. The team already boasts game-changing figures, what it needs is experienced supporting players to come in and provide defensive stability to a weakened backline.

Sixteen players' contracts expire at the end of the year, with 13 possessing an option to extend for a year or two. Óscar Ustari and Ian Fray may see their time with the club come to a close, while Freire's loan from Pumas in Liga MX is now effectively over.

Suárez has confirmed that his agent is negotiating a contract extension with the team, eliminating the need for Miami to chase down a replacement.

And although the clock is ticking, time isn't necessarily running out for Messi. The forward's contract runs through the 2025 season, and although his deal does not include an option for 2026, the door to another season at Inter Miami remains open.

"Well, I actually don't know how limited [Messi's time in this league] is," Martino said on Saturday. "There is a question of time passing but I would not dare to say that it is so short."

Messi and Busquets, the team's two Designated Players, and U22 initiative players Cremaschi, Avilés, Farías and Redondo will return under the same contract structure. Inter must address the contract of Emerson Rodriguez, who will be returning from a loan spell at Vasco de Gama but also holds a U22 slot.

Ahead of 2025, Henderson and Martino must seek out reliable center-backs, to relieve Busquets of his occasional duties in the backline, and an attacking midfielder ahead of the likely departure of Gómez. The 21-year-old Paraguay international is reportedly close to joining Brighton & Hove Albion this offseason, leaving a sizable hole in the team's midfield, having played an integral role in 2024 with six goals and seven assists in 2,153 minutes across all competitions.

Further, Miami lack depth in the right-back, attacking midfield and winger positions, and should look to strengthen those areas this winter.

By reinforcing the backline and adding depth across the field, Inter Miami can look to boast one of the most competitive rosters in all of Concacaf. With a more considered preseason and strengthened squad, the team should be able to balance the multi-tournament demands of the upcoming season and defy expectations across competitions.

Another Messi trophy lift may not be far off, but the Herons must take the appropriate steps to reach the ultimate goal.