Thomas Muller sends warning to Lionel Messi ahead of possible MLS Cup match

Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Thomas Müller has vowed to ‘hunt’ Lionel Messi again, revealing he is hoping for an MLS Cup match with Argentine side Inter Miami.

Müller and Vancouver will first have to fight their way through against San Diego FC in this Saturday’s Western Conference final before they can dream of a showpiece match against Miami or New York City FC next month.

The German icon won the biggest of games when his national team triumphed in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina and Messi. More than a decade later, that championship hunger hasn’t diminished.

“My story with [Messi] forces me to hope for a final”, he declared MLS. “For me, Messi is the greatest player we have in this game… but I will chase you [Messi] Again.”

At 36, Müller led the Whitecaps to their first MLS Cup playoffs and the club’s first-ever appearance in a Western Conference final.

“When you get closer to the final, you face better teams,” Müller told assembled media this week. “At the end of the day, you normally play the best teams, so it’s always nice to beat the best team. More spectators, more people watching to see if you’re doing the job or not. That motivates me, to be honest. Doing the job when everyone is watching… That’s it, and that’s what I want to do over and over again.”

Vancouver enters Saturday’s match on the back of a decisive victory for the club, beating Son Heung-min’s LAFC on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw, slaying playoff demons after the Black and Gold ended Vancouver’s 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Now they’re on the brink of the MLS Cup, with another massive game in a record-breaking season that saw them advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup final, win a fourth consecutive Canadian Championship and set regular season club records in almost every category.

“We qualified and everyone will remember that,” Müller said of the victory against LAFC. “But no one remembers the quarter-finals. A quarter-final is played just to get to the semi-final or to go on vacation. The goal is always to get to the final, and that’s our next step, and that’s what I’m focusing on.”

The Whitecaps bring plenty of confidence on the road as they visit a record-chasing San Diego team, which is expecting a sellout crowd of more than 35,000 at Snapdragon Stadium.

As much as Müller experienced in critical moments, the series of big matches in 2025 was new territory for many of his teammates. However, this is not something that worries them too much.

“They should feel it. They should feel the pressure, but they should handle it in the right way,” Müller said. “It’s not about not being attracted to these kinds of emotions, it’s more about knowing how to use them.

“The good thing about a fast-paced sport like football is that when the referee blows the whistle, you don’t have a lot of time to think about anything, so you just play.”

Against San Diego, the Whitecaps look to complete the best season for an expansion team. The California team is led by MLS Newcomer of the Year Anders Dreyer, who has four goals and one assist in four playoff games after tallying 19 goals and 19 assists in the regular season.

To do that, they’ll need the best from not only Müller, but also U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, whose passion and tenacity in midfield has been vital to Vancouver and its ever-improving standing under USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino.

“Pressure, to me, is someone you create in your own head,” Berhalter said. “I think we’ve handled that really well this year, without going overboard. We’re playing a football game alongside a group of best friends, and we’re just going out there and having a good time.”

Fortunately for the Whitecaps, adaptations and reliance on systems rather than players have been key factors in 2025 and will need to continue against San Diego as they deal with injuries and suspensions.

In central defense, manager Jesper Sørensen will not be able to call on MLS Defender of the Year Tristan Blackmon, who received a red card against LAFC, among others. As such, expect right-back Mathías Laborda to slot in alongside midfielder Ralph Priso, who has taken on the central defensive role and has thrived in recent weeks.

Adaptations and depth, however, have been the Whitecaps’ strong point and will need to be again on Saturday.

“It helped us throughout the season to be able to do different things, to have tactical flexibility, to be able to change things tactically, not just between games, but also during games,” Sørensen said. “That’s definitely part of our success this year… We have some things we can do if we really need to move the game forward the way we want to.”

Now they will have to adapt again, with the tantalizing potential of a final in front of a sold-out BC Place against New York City, or a date against an Inter Miami team they have beaten twice in the Champions Cup, which would also feature a battle between Müller and Messi.

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