Lionel Messi is playing for another trophy. Inter Miami to meet Vancouver in the MLS Cup final

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — For Lionel Messi, the MLS Cup final on Saturday will represent some endings. And, quite possibly, a new beginning.

Messi and Inter Miami will take on Thomas Muller — one of his longtime rivals — and the Vancouver Whitecaps for Major League Soccer's championship. It's the first final for both clubs, which means MLS is about to have a first-time champion.

“We know it’s going to be a very, very tough game. ... It's going to be a very, very special final," Messi said in remarks distributed by the team Thursday.

But for Messi, it's the end of a couple eras. It's the last match planned at Inter Miami's current home, with the team set to move into a still-under-construction stadium near Miami International Airport next season. And barring some serious changes of heart, it'll be the last time he gets to play with longtime teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets — they're both retiring after Saturday — and possibly Luis Suarez as well.

“I’m very grateful for the career I’ve had, the teams I’ve played for, everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve enjoyed, and well, it’s been a privilege,” Alba said in Spanish on Thursday. “Yes, it’s a week with a lot of emotions, knowing that it’s going to be my last game ... and hopefully, I end my career in the best possible scenario, in a final and we win.”

It's not like Messi needs this win for his legacy; Argentina's star — a winner of 46 championships for club and country worldwide, the most in history — is widely considered the greatest player ever and Saturday's outcome won't help or hurt that reputation. Same goes for Muller, the German great who has been on the winning end of a World Cup final in which he played against Messi (and Javier Mascherano, now the Inter Miami coach).

“It’s good that this final has come about and that we’re facing each other again,” Messi said. “We’ve already faced Vancouver and we understand the caliber of their team.”

That said, Saturday will bring at least one first: If Vancouver wins, Muller will be the first player to win a World Cup and an MLS Cup. If Inter Miami wins, Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Busquets will become the first trio to say they were both a World Cup and an MLS champion.

“We are going to have four World Cup winners on the pitch," Mascherano said. “I think it’s very, very interesting for the league.”

Muller — part of more than 30 trophy wins for club and country himself — was asked how the MLS Cup ranks on his list.

“At the moment, I rank it No. 1," Muller said. “Because it’s the only final that we are talking about. It’s upcoming. At the moment, for me, this final on Saturday is the most important thing in my life.”

He then paused a bit.

"That’s a good line, ah?” he asked, laughing at his joke.

But clearly, the MLS Cup is something that both teams want badly. For Inter Miami, it's a chance to prove that bringing in the Barcelona foursome — Messi, Alba, Suarez and Busquets — was all worth it. For Vancouver, which beat Inter Miami twice this season in the CONCACAF Champions League, it's a chance to win a trophy and go through Messi to get it done.

“Obviously, they were much better than us in April,” Mascherano said. “But the situation is not the same. We are in a different situation. We arrive to this final with confidence, with some different players. And we know that they have a very, very good team.”

Inter Miami is 10-2-1 in its last 13 matches, going back to the regular season. The team has been particularly dominant in three win-or-go-home matches during these MLS playoffs, winning those by a combined score of 13-1.

Vancouver is 7-1-5 in its last 13 matches and has given up a total of 17 goals in its last 17 matches against MLS opponents.

The team playing in its home stadium, or home market, has won 11 of the last 14 MLS Cup titles. Of the three that lost in that scenario, two fell in penalty kicks.

Vancouver won at Inter Miami in April in the CONCACAF semifinals. Inter Miami is 16-2-2 across all competitions at home since.

“We’ve been ready for this this whole season," Vancouver midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said. "The pressure, it comes with it. It's a privilege and it’s fun and I think you know our guys are going to lean into it and enjoy it. Home team, away team, I don’t think it matters.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi works out during a training session, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ahead of Saturday's of the MLS Cup soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano speaks during news conference Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ahead of Saturday's of the MLS Cup soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via

Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano gestures to his players from the sideline during the first half of an MLS Eastern Conference final soccer match against New York City FC, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Vancouver Whitecaps' Thomas Muller looks at the MLS Cup trophy as he arrives for a news conference Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ahead of Saturday's of the MLS Cup soccer match against Inter Miami. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via

Vancouver Whitecaps' Thomas Muller laughs during news conference Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ahead of Saturday's of the MLS Cup soccer match against Inter Miami. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi works out during a training session, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., ahead of Saturday's of the MLS Cup soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Justice Department failed Thursday to secure a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James after a judge dismissed the previous mortgage fraud prosecution encouraged by President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

Prosecutors went back to a grand jury in Virginia after a judge’s ruling halting the prosecution of James and another longtime Trump foe, former FBI Director James Comey, on the grounds that the U.S. attorney who presented the cases was illegally appointed. But grand jurors rejected prosecutors' request to bring charges.

It's the latest setback for the Justice Department in its bid to prosecute the frequent political target of the Republican president.

Prosecutors are expected to try again for an indictment, according to one person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

James was initially charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide and Trump lawyer, personally presented the case to the grand jury in October after being installed as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia amid pressure from Trump to charge Comey and James.

James has denied any wrongdoing and accused the administration of using the justice system to seek revenge against Trump’s political opponents. In a statement Thursday, James said: “It is time for this unchecked weaponization of our justice system to stop.”

“This should be the end of this case,” her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement. “If they continue, undeterred by a court ruling and a grand jury’s rejection of the charges, it will be a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.”

The allegations related to James’ purchase of a modest house in Norfolk, where she has family. During the sale, she signed a standard document called a “second home rider” in which she agreed to keep the property primarily for her “personal use and enjoyment for at least one year,” unless the lender agreed otherwise.

Rather than using the home as a second residence, James rented it out to a family of three, allowing her to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, prosecutors alleged.

It's the latest example of pushback by grand jurors since the beginning of the second Trump administration. It's so unusual for grand jurors to refuse to return an indictment that it was once said that prosecutors could persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.” But the Justice Department has faced setbacks in front of grand juries in several recent cases.

Even if the charges against James are resurrected, the Justice Department could face obstacles in securing a conviction against James.

James’ lawyers separately argued the case was a vindictive prosecution brought to punish the Trump critic who spent years investigating and suing the Republican president and won a staggering judgment in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements. The fine was later tossed out by a higher court, but both sides are appealing.

The defense had also alleged “outrageous government conduct” preceding her indictment, which the defense argued warrants the case’s dismissal. The judge hadn’t ruled on the defense’s arguments on those matters before dismissing the case last month over the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. attorney.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie took issue with the mechanism the Trump administration employed to appoint Halligan to lead one of the Justice Department’s most elite and important offices.

Halligan was named as a replacement for Erik Siebert, a veteran prosecutor in the office and interim U.S. attorney who resigned in September amid Trump administration pressure to file charges against both Comey and James.

The following night, Trump said he would be nominating Halligan to the role of interim U.S. attorney and publicly implored Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against his political opponents, saying in a Truth Social post that, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility” and “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”

Comey was indicted three days after Halligan was sworn in by Bondi, and James was charged two weeks after that.

The Justice Department had defended Halligan’s appointment but has also revealed that Bondi had given Halligan a separate position of “Special Attorney,” presumably as a way to protect the indictments from the possibility of collapse. But Currie said such a retroactive designation could not save the cases.

Richer reported from Washington.

FILE - New York Attorney General, Letitia James, speaks after pleading not guilty outside the United States District Court, on Oct. 24, 2025, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/John Clark, File)