Lionel Messi could be welcoming a Premier League superstar at Inter Miami in the summer, as the Florida-based side assemble a world-class squad.
Alongisde Messi at Inter Miami right now are his former Barcelona team-mates Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, with Javier Mascherano the club's manager. They're currently flying at the starting of the MLS season, sitting in second in the Eastern Conference with the opportunity to go top if they win their game in hand.
But the side co-owned by David Beckham aren't content with stopping there, after acquiring the MLS discovery rights of a Premier League player who has already confirmed their exit from the top flight this summer.
Lionel Messi and Co. to welcome star at Inter Miami
Kevin De Bruyne announced his decision last week that he would be leaving Manchester City at the end of the 2024/25 season, though he didn't reveal where. A move to both the MLS and Saudi Arabia seem viable, but, according to The Athletic, Inter Miami have already paid for his discovery rights after San Diego reportedly removed him from their list earlier this year.
That gives Inter the first right to negotiate with De Bruyne, should he decide to move to America. MLS created discovery created to prevent teams from bidding against each other and drive up the cost of transfer fees. Players effectively sign for the MLS before being assigned a team, meaning that Messi and De Bruyne could be playing alongside each other as early as July.
Inter Miami still face some complications in signing De Bruyne, however.
Messi, Busquets and Alba already occupy the three designated player (DP) slots in the team, allowing them to be paid above and beyond the league's salary cap, meaning the Belgian has a cap on how much he can earn during his first half-season at the club if he does decide to move.
As The Athletic reports, De Bruyne cannot earn more than $871,875 in 2025 if he does sign for Inter Miami, and even then that relies on the club using its available “targeted allocation money”, which is essentially extra salary cap space. He could then be registered as DP in 2026, but that would require one of Messi, Alba or Busquets - who are all out of contract at the end of the year - being removed from the roster.
If De Bruyne is willing to sign for Inter Miami, he won't actually be available to play until July 24, when MLS' second transfer window of the season opens.
In FourFourTwo's view, it would be incredible to see Messi and De Bruyne linking up together at Inter Miami, with Sergio Busquets playing behind them and Luis Suarez leading the line.
Whether that'll turn into a reality or not remains to be seen, however. De Bruyne will want to earn the money he feels he is worth, while Inter Miami might struggle to keep their squad happy and well-balanced with so many top players.
