Former Barcelona forward Messi made MLS history on Sunday, reaching 25 goal contributions in just 12 appearances this term to shatter the previous fastest record held by Carlos Vela (16 in 2019).
Messi was on target in the 3-3 draw with St. Louis City, while Alba – who assisted Miami's first two goals – salvaged a point at Chase Stadium with a late leveller in a thrilling contest.
Yet Gerardo Martino will not have Messi to call upon for the foreseeable future, as the legendary attacker prepares for Argentina's Copa title defence.
"Knowing the player that he is for us, it's hard, but the team will continue to compete as much as possible, and that will be noticed," Alba said of Messi's absence.
"It's an important absence for us, but we hope he does well in Copa America, we hope he has a great tournament and joins us again when it's time.
"If that's after the final, well – but in the meantime, the team will continue to fight and play."
The 2024 Copa runs from June 20 to July 14, with Inter also potentially losing players to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris at the end of next month.
Martino remains aware of the availability issues that could follow for the Eastern Conference leaders, though Messi leaves with Miami's well wishes.
"In today's game, Leo was practically responsible next to Jordi for the participation of the attack," the Miami head coach said.
"He was involved creating chances, he insisted throughout the game. He finished the game well – and now will do what has corresponded to him his whole life, which is play for Argentina."
Argentina face Ecuador and Guatemala in warm-up fixtures before opening their Copa defence against Canada on June 21.
Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England star Beckham left the Spanish capital for LA Galaxy in 2007 as the dazzling midfielder's move captured the imaginations of many in the United States.
Beckham has since retired and created his own MLS franchise in the USA, bringing the likes of Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to his newly established Miami side.
Juventus great Chiellini also joined MLS, signing for Los Angeles FC, winning the MLS Cup Final last year before defeat in this season's edition on Saturday to Columbus Crew.
And he vouched for the impact of Messi's move to Miami.
"I think that when Messi joined it was comparable to when Beckham joined," Chiellini told Stats Perform.
"And it's something that the league, but also the players, are very happy about because there is a lot of possibility for the future.
"What Messi did was huge for everyone and now there is much more consideration for the league, much more attention and it helps everyone."
Former Italy centre-back Chiellini announced his retirement on Monday, with reports suggesting the 39-year-old will move back to Juventus to take up a boardroom role.
The European Championship-winning defender will at least be thankful he does not have to face Beckham's Miami again next season.
A Messi-inspired Miami powered to a Leagues Cup triumph, with the Argentina captain scoring 10 goals.
"I don't know how every team could face and beat Miami next year," Chiellini added on Miami, who are reportedly close to signing former Barcelona and Liverpool forward Luis Suarez.
"Fortunately this year I met with Messi when they were at the bottom of the table and then he had one month out.
"They were still a really good team, it was one of the best nights and atmospheres. That's very good for the league, very good for the future of the league."
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson and full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold are also included, although there is no place for Mohamed Salah.
PSG's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are among the forwards, as is Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Veteran Dani Alves also won enough votes to make the list, even though the 38-year-old, who recently rejoined Barcelona, only played 16 times in domestic competition in Brazil this year.
Professional footballers across the world were asked to vote for the three players they considered to have the best seasons during the 2020-21 season among goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards.
FIFPRO said: "For the first time in 17 years, FIFPRO is updating the announcement about the most-voted players, reducing the shortlist from 55 to 23. This has been done to resemble a real-life 'squad' which, usually for international competitions, is the number of players involved.
"The three goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and six forwards with the most votes earned a place in the 23-men World 11 'squad'. To complete this elite selection, the two remaining outfield players with the most votes were added."
The keeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards with the most votes will be chosen for the World 11, with the remaining spot assigned to the outfield player with the next highest number of votes.
The final 11 will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on January 17.
FIFA FIFPRO MEN'S WORLD 11 23-PLAYER SHORTLIST:
Goalkeepers:
Alisson (Liverpool, Brazil)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan/Paris Saint-Germain, Italy)
Edouard Mendy (Chelsea, Senegal)
Defenders:
David Alaba (Bayern Munich/Real Madrid, Austria)
Jordi Alba (Barcelona, Spain)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, England)
Dani Alves (Sao Paulo/Barcelona, Brazil)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, Italy)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)
Midfielders:
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona, Spain)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona, The Netherlands)
Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea, France)
Forwards:
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United, Portugal)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, Norway)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)
Romelu Lukaku (Inter/Chelsea, Belgium)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)
Ronald Koeman's side won at this ground 4-0 in LaLiga last month but were facing a battle when Kenedy scored against the run of play after an error by Samuel Umtiti, making just his fifth start of the season.
Roberto Soldado struck a second on the break early in the second half and Barca struggled to get back into the contest against an exemplary Granada defence and inspired goalkeeper Aaron Escandell.
However, Griezmann turned in Lionel Messi's cross from deep with two minutes of normal time left and the same combination set up Jordi Alba to head in an injury-time equaliser.
Griezmann's fine header put Barca ahead in extra time but Fede Vico struck back straight away from the penalty spot, only for Frenkie de Jong and Alba again to settle the encounter at last.
Aaron was forced into six saves in the first half as Barca dominated proceedings, with a double stop to deny Messi and Francisco Trincao the pick of them.
It was Barca's own slack play that gifted Granada the lead, as some loose passing in defence ended in Umtiti being dispossessed by Alberto Soro, who teed up Kenedy for a tap-in.
Granada delivered a sucker-punch in the first two minutes of the second half. Angel Montoro intercepted a Griezmann pass and launched a long ball forward to Soldado, who raced away from Umtiti and slotted past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Trincao, Ousmane Dembele and Messi all hit the woodwork and Griezmann was denied from an overhead kick by a brilliant Aaron save, but the France forward turned a Messi cross in off post and keeper to give his side a lifeline.
The same Messi pass and Griezmann run teed up Alba to net an unlikely header, but Luis Suarez almost snatched a win for Granada with seconds left, the substitute dragging a shot wide after racing through on goal.
Aaron could do nothing to deny Griezmann's emphatic second in extra time as he rose highest to head in Alba's cross, but Vico restored parity three minutes later from the spot after Carlos Neva won a soft penalty from Sergino Dest.
But De Jong denied Granada a second semi-final in succession, side-footing into the net after Aaron had parried Messi's shot in the 109th minute, and Alba blasted home a stunning volley from Griezmann's clever pass to make certain the contest was over.
Matias Rojas had given the Herons an early lead before being pegged back by Rafael Czichos, but Alba's winner ensured Miami made it back-to-back wins.
FC Cincinnati's third defeat in a row, a 3-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls, means Miami now have some breathing space at the summit of the table.
The hosts were still without Lionel Messi, who watched on from the sidelines with an ankle injury, but made a quick start without their talisman.
Robert Taylor's bursting run opened up the space in behind Chicago for him to pull it back into the middle, and Rojas fired his shot across goal to pick out the bottom-right corner.
Moments later, Hugo Cuypers almost pegged them back when he benefitted from Drake Callendar's spill, but the goalkeeper recovered well to deny him.
Julian Gressel then fired a brilliant chance wide, not realising he had more time, but almost made up for it on the stroke of half-time, only to fire a powerful shot against the crossbar.
The Fire improved after the break and got their reward in the 73rd minute, with Czichos pushing out from defence before nestling a shot into the bottom-left corner.
Their joy was short-lived though, as just two minutes later, Alba made the most of a mix-up at the back and slotted into an empty net to seal the three points.
Data Debrief: Miami on target once more
Miami have scored in each of their last 11 games in MLS, their longest streak this season. In fact, they have only failed to score in two of their 25 matches in the league so far.
Alba's last strike here ensured they ended a four-match winless streak against the Fire (drawing one, losing three), having failed to beat them since August 2021.
The Argentina and Barcelona great levelled proceedings after Chris Durkin's early opener, taking Messi to 25 goal contributions this term in just 12 MLS appearances – shattering the previous record by Carlos Vela.
Indiana Vassilev edged the visitors back ahead before Luis Suarez restored parity on the stroke of half-time at Miami's Chase Stadium.
Gerardo Martino's side fell behind again after Suarez turned into his own net but Alba, who assisted Miami's first two goals, saved the day with an 85th-minute equaliser to salvage a point.
The draw left Miami top of the Eastern Conference by two points but second-placed FC Cincinnati have two games in hand over Martino's star-studded line-up.
Meanwhile, St. Louis remain 11th in the Western Conference but just three points adrift of ninth-placed Portland Timbers having played two games fewer.
Data Debrief: Messi history in MLS
Having shattered records across historic spells with Barcelona and Argentina, Messi now has another MLS achievement on his sparkling resume.
Messi became the fastest player to 25 goal contributions in an MLS season, recording 12 goals and 13 assists to surpass the previous record established by Vela in 2019 (16 games, four more than Messi).
Liverpool and Barcelona great Suarez joined Gremio in January, having helped his boyhood club Nacional to the Uruguayan Primera Division title on his return to South America last year.
Suarez has scored four goals in 12 appearances in the Brazilian top flight this campaign, but his future is in doubt amid reports he is Miami's next big-name target.
Miami have already signed Suarez's former Barca team-mates Messi, Busquets and Alba, and Sunday brought confirmation they had traded with the San Jose Earthquakes to gain another international registration slot.
That move has heightened speculation regarding a move for Suarez, and while Lucas understands the draw of MLS, he hopes Gremio can keep the striker.
Asked about Suarez's future, Lucas – who retired in March after being diagnosed with a heart issue – said: "He made a fantastic impact here in Brazil at Gremio.
"I think made the right move. Luis is a world-class player, we don't need to speak about his qualities and what he's doing here in Brazil.
"He's been linked, but I just hope he can stay at Gremio because it's my club and he's my neighbour here!
"I hope he stays a bit longer but MLS is getting attention from every player and from the fans. It's normal that he will be linked with big teams like Inter Miami."
After Messi marked his Miami debut with a dramatic free-kick winner against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, there has arguably never been a more compelling time to follow MLS.
Lucas is among those excited by the league's potential, adding: "MLS is growing every year, people are watching more MLS. If you look back maybe 10 years, nobody would have expected that.
"Americans know how to do these things, so well done to them. Messi going there will just attract a lot of fans and people who will be following the league, so it's great.
"It's great because football should be everywhere in the world because it is a fantastic sport that people love to watch.
"We can see him in another league, not in Europe. In America, it's a great thing for the fans that love football. It's a league that is improving and is growing and getting better every season."
Alba scored a stunning volley that ultimately proved the winner just before half-time in Saturday's 2-1 win over Nashville SC. The strike came with an expected goals (xG) value of 0.01.
That victory kept Miami top of the Eastern Conference, with a two-point lead over FC Cincinnati.
Miami face Charlotte in midweek, and with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez still away at the Copa America, Martino is glad to have such an experienced, quality player as Alba at his disposal.
"I celebrated] as should be celebrated because it was a great goal," Martino said.
"I'm not surprised because he is a player with so much quality.
"He [Alba] puts me at ease for what he gives the team and the options he gives us in attack and how well he played defensively.
"Jordi is an internationally recognised player and we're lucky to have him on our team."
Nashville dragged themselves back into the contest in the second half, and Miami ultimately relied on goalkeeper Drake Callendar to make a late save to earn all three points.
Reflecting on his side's display, Martino added: "I believe we had a very good first half, we controlled the whole thing.
"In the second half, we did not control the ball the same way as the first half, especially when Nashville had a line of three, [but] we didn't suffer.
"I think in the end we won the game rather well."
Charlotte lost 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo last time out, snapping a four-game unbeaten streak for Dean Smith's team.
They sit sixth in the Eastern Conference.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC - Patrick Agyemang
Agyemang leads Charlotte's scoring charts with five MLS goals. They have come from 14 shots on target, and 26 attempts overall. He will be one Miami's defence has to look out for.
Inter Miami - Julian Gressel
Gressel provided an assist for Miami's opener against Nashville. It was his 100th goal contribution in MLS.
Since he joined MLS in 2017, Gressel has provided 62 assists, with only Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta (65) setting up more goals.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
While Miami are top of the standings, Charlotte are expected to challenge for a positive result in this one, with Opta's supercomputer ranking the draw threat highly.
Miami have won their last three away games in MLS, though, so the Herons still come into this as slight favourites.
That being said, Miami have lost their last two trips to Charlotte. In fact, last season, these teams split the record evenly over their three meetings in all competitions, with Miami winning one, Charlotte winning another and the other game drawn.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Inter Miami - 41.6%
Charlotte - 32.9%
Draw - 25.6%
Busquets announced his retirement from Spain duty on Friday having captained La Roja in each of their four games at the World Cup in Qatar.
Busquets' miss in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Morocco in the last 16 provided a less-than-fitting end to his stellar career with Spain, for whom he made 143 senior appearances.
The 34-year-old starred alongside his Barcelona team-mate-turned-coach Xavi as Spain won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, and the Blaugrana boss believes few can match his impact.
"In the end, it's a personal decision that you make when you feel the time is right," Xavi told Barcelona's website. "I wish him the best, now he will be able to rest more and focus on Barca.
"He is a player who has made history. He is one of the best midfielders that football has produced worldwide and, for sure, the best defensive midfielder in the history of Spain."
Fellow Barcelona star Jordi Alba said Busquets will be "sorely missed" by Spain, who will be led by Luis de la Fuente in Euro 2024 qualifying after Luis Enrique left his role as head coach.
"You have always been a great leader for all of us who are part of the team, both in good times and in bad," Alba wrote on Twitter.
"After so many training sessions and games together in the national team, today you say goodbye and you will be sorely missed, friend.
"Thank you for what you have contributed to us and for everything you have given."
