Inter Miami has appointed former Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano as its new head coach.

Mascherano will coach his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi at the club and replaces Gerardo Martino, who stood down last week due to “personal reasons.”

The 40-year-old has most recently worked as coach of the Argentine U-20s and their Olympic team (U-23s) at the Paris Olympics.

He made 203 appearances for Barcelona and as well as playing alongside Messi, he was a teammate of current Inter Miami players Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez.

In his job with Argentina youth teams, Mascherano coached Inter Miami’s players Tomas Aviles, Facundo Farias and Federico Redondo. Benjamin Cremaschi also played briefly for Mascherano before committing to the USA for the Olympics and with the current U-20s.

“This job requires somebody with the experience to be able to maximise our unique collection of talent – from our global superstars, to our burgeoning homegrown players, to our young international prospects, and everything in between,” said Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas. “Javier has amassed unmatched experience in his career, from playing on the world’s biggest stages, to coaching at the youth international level; he has the blend of skills and experience we were looking for.

“We believe Javier is an important addition to our club as we continue on our quest to be among the world’s elite, setting a new standard for football in North America,” added Mas.

This year, Miami dominated the MLS regular season, winning the Supporters’ Shield for the team with the best overall record, breaking the points record in the process — an achievement which led FIFA to hand them a place in next year’s Club World Cup.

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