Lionel Messi's former teammate Javier Mascherano close to becoming Inter Miami coach, AP source says

Lionel Messi is on the cusp of reuniting with former Argentina national teammate Javier Mascherano with Inter Miami, this time as player and coach, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.

Multiple reports out of Argentina said Mascherano has already agreed to take over as coach at Inter Miami as the replacement for Gerardo “Tata” Martino — who stepped down citing personal reasons. Mascherano emerged as Inter Miami's frontrunner earlier this week, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decision has been revealed by the team.

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas said the team had three finalists in mind for the job, then made a pick on the replacement Wednesday — but would not confirm that the deal with Mascherano is done, or that he even was the final selection.

“We are very near the end of the process,” Mas said. “We will be announcing a new coach for Inter Miami in the upcoming days."

Messi and Mascherano were teammates both for Argentina and with Barcelona; for the Spanish club, Mascherano also played alongside current Inter Miami standouts Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez. Mascherano, at one time, was the all-time leader for Argentina’s national team in international appearances; Messi has since broken that record.

Mas said he spoke with Messi last week about the coaching search. It’s not known if Messi played an active role in recruiting Mascherano, who currently is Argentina’s U-20 national coach.

“I asked him, 'What is important to you? And what do you think is important to get the best out of our roster and out of our 11 and how do we improve?” Mas said. “And Leo shared with me his thoughts. ... Without a doubt, a familiarity with Leo and the other stars is an advantage in every aspect. Obviously, I want Leo to feel comfortable with the new trainer, with the new coach coming in."

Martino guided Inter Miami to the best regular season record in Major League Soccer history this season. He was hired in July 2023, right around the time that Messi debuted for the club and insisted Friday that he needs to leave for personal reasons.

Inter Miami — which won the 2023 Leagues Cup and MLS Supporters Shield this season under Martino — was eliminated in the first round of this year’s MLS Cup playoffs. The team's 2025 season starts with training camp in January.

Martino also had deep ties to Messi before coming to Inter Miami; he coached the world's most decorated men's player and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner with Barcelona and Argentina’s national team before reuniting with him in South Florida. Martino said Friday he decided just before the start of the playoffs that he would not be back with Inter Miami next season.

“Needless to say, we’ve enjoyed it a lot and I’m grateful for the opportunity, on behalf of my entire coaching staff, to have been able to work at this club,” Martino said Friday in his farewell news conference. “The truth is that it’s been very captivating being part of the change during this year and a half.”

Inter Miami was 26-9-12 in MLS regular season matches in the Martino era.

The 40-year-old Mascherano also played for five seasons in the Premier League, most of that with Liverpool. He played in the World Cup four times for Argentina — 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018.

The new coach — Mascherano or anyone else — will have a very busy first year. Inter Miami has a preseason tour planned in 2025, plus a 34-match MLS regular season and will play in Leagues Cup, the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

“This is an extremely attractive position for a coach,” Mas said.

Messi — MLS' highest-paid player, someone who had a 2 1/2-year deal worth an estimated $150 million in total when he joined Inter Miami — is going into his final guaranteed season with the club. He has an option for 2026, the year that Inter Miami plans to finally move into its Freedom Park complex currently being built near Miami International Airport.

“Leo and I will sit and we'll discuss the future,” Mas said. “As I've said before, and I will repeat it now, I fully expect that the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami — and the opening of our '26 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season — that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”

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

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) aims the ball during the second half of their MLS playoff opening round soccer match against Atlanta United, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

FILE - Argentina's Javier Mascherano, left, and Lionel Messi talk after Messi scored during a friendly soccer match between Argentina and Haiti in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, File)

FILE - Argentina's head coach Javier Mascherano reacts before the quarter final soccer match between France and Argentina, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, on Aug. 2, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ education board voted Friday to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms.

The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they will receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classroom as early as next school year.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than 5 million students in Texas public schools.

Parents and teachers who opposed the curriculum said the lessons will alienate students of other faith backgrounds.

Supporters argued the Bible is a core feature of American history and that teaching it will enrich students’ learning.

The new Texas curriculum follows Republican-led efforts in neighboring states to give religion more of a presence in public schools. In Oklahoma, the state’s education chief has ordered a copy of the Bible in every classroom, while Louisiana wants to make all of the state’s public school classrooms post the Ten Commandments beginning next year.

With the new curriculum, Texas would be the first state to introduce Bible lessons in schools in this manner, according to Matthew Patrick Shaw, an assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University.

The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education for more than 5 million students statewide, created its own instruction materials after a law passed in 2023 by the GOP-controlled Legislature required the agency to do so. The lesson plans were publicly released this spring.

The material draws on lessons from Christianity more than any other religion in the proposed reading and language arts modules for kindergarten through fifth grade, which critics say would alienate students from different faith backgrounds and potentially violate the First Amendment.

“This curriculum is not age-appropriate or subject matter appropriate in the way that it presents these Bible stories,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

Children who would read the material, she said, “are simply too young to tell the difference between what is a faith claim and what is a matter of fact.”

More than 100 people testified at a board meeting this week that rung with emotion from parents, teachers and advocates. Supporters of the curriculum argued that the Bible is a core feature of American history and teaching it will enrich students’ learning.

“It is said that there are close to 300 common-day phrases that actually come from the Bible,” said Mary Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values, a right-leaning advocacy group. "So students will benefit from being able to understand a lot of these references that are in literature and have a way to be able to comprehend them.”

The 15-member board consists of 11 Republicans and four Democrats. It signaled support for the materials in a 8-7 preliminary vote on Wednesday.

One of the board members is a Republican who was appointed to the board just weeks ago by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacant seat. Days after that appointment, a Democrat who ran unopposed was elected to fill that same board seat starting next year.

Abbott has publicly supported the instruction materials.

Whether the lesson plans will be considered constitutional is up in the air if the curriculum passes, Shaw said.

“The question is how is Texas going to frame what is done here to avoid the establishment question or tackle it head-on,” he said.

Texas' plans to implement Biblical teachings in public school lesson plans is the latest effort by Republican-controlled states to bring religion into the classroom.

In Louisiana, a law to place the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms was blocked by a federal judge earlier this month. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June, prompting a group of Louisiana public school parents of different faiths to sue.

In Oklahoma, the state's top education official has tried to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in fifth through 12th grades. A group of teachers and parents recently filed a lawsuit to stop the Republican state superintendent's plan and his efforts to spend $3 million to purchase Bibles for public schools.

Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

FILE - A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)