Rodrigo de Paul, Messi's luxury reinforcement in Miami

Lionel Messi has a new ally in Inter Miami: his compatriot and friend Rodrigo De Paul, until now at Atletico Madrid, is packing his bags to join the Florida club. After four seasons with the colchoneros, the Albiceleste international arrives "initially on loan" at Las Garzas for the 2025 season, but with options for the transfer to be permanent until 2029.

"Several of the best players in world soccer have already chosen Inter Miami as their home, and the addition of Rodrigo to our squad is another milestone in our journey to change the trajectory of the sport in this country," said the pink club's co-owner and president, Jorge Mas, quoted in a statement.

The U.S. squad made the 31-year-old midfielder's arrival official hours after Atletico Madrid announced the departure of the world champion, who landed in the Spanish capital in 2021 and to whom it dedicated a farewell text entitled "Thank you, De Paul."

"What brings me to Inter Miami is the desire to compete, to win titles, to write the pages of the club's history," the player said. "It's a club that is shaping up to be great, to have a long history."

Weeks to close the deal

The deal with Inter Miami had been weeks in the making and the midfielder, pending its completion, had not joined the Madrid team's preseason.

He was not able to win any title during this stage under the orders of his compatriot Diego Simeone but as a red and white player he experienced with Argentina the greatest success of his career, the conquest of the World Cup in Qatar 2022.

At Atletico, with whom he had one season left on his contract, he played 187 games, with a personal tally of 14 goals and 26 assists.

The second-largest transfer in MLS, according to the Spanish press

Inter Miami did not give details of the transaction, but the Spanish press speaks of a transfer valued at around 15 million euros ($17.6 million). In the history of MLS transfers, the figure would be only below the $22 million that Atlanta United paid this season for Ivorian Emmanuel Latte.

He will still have an Argentine coach at his new team, as Javier Mascherano takes the reins at the Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit.

De Paul has a great synergy on and off the pitch with his new club teammate Messi, whom he tucked in to win the World Cup and Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024.

The midfielder offers superior physical guarantees to those of his current partners, Uruguay's Luis Suarez and Spain's Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, who have already closed the chapter with their national teams and are facing the twilight of their legendary careers.

De Paul, on the other hand, remains an important part of the Argentina squad coached by Lionel Scaloni, in which he has 78 caps. He should bring a much-needed injection of quality and physical deployment to Inter's stagnant midfield, heavily reliant on Messi's playmaking appearances.

Before signing for Atletico, the midfielder played for Udinese in Italy, Valencia in Spain and Racing in Argentina, his training team.

He will not be a 'Designated Player' this season

At least in this campaign, the Argentine will not occupy one of the three Designated Player places available to each team, which allow those players to be offered a salary that exceeds the league's cap.

In addition to Messi, this status is held at Inter by Jordi Alba, who recently renewed until 2027, and Busquets, whose contract expires this year as does Suarez's. The continuity of both in 2026 is in doubt.

The franchise co-owned by David Beckham hopes that the effort for De Paul will serve as an incentive for Messi to culminate negotiations to renew his contract, which expires at the end of this year.

Goal: retain Messi at least until the new stadium in 2026

Inter want their leader to remain in Miami for at least the 2026 season, when they will inaugurate their new stadium in Miami.

At 38, Messi has not publicly confirmed his intention to play in the next World Cup but he continues to amaze the soccer world on a weekly basis with new feats.

The latest of these is his streak of six brace goals in his last seven games in MLS, a tournament in which he is the top scorer.