Lionel Messi has been reunited with his bodyguard on the pitch for Inter Miami — no, not that one — as the Herons added Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul to their squad this summer in a surprise move. Joining on loan from Atletico Madrid in La Liga, De Paul will bring a strong presence next to Sergio Busquets that will automatically make Inter Miami the favorites to hoist the MLS Cup this year. With Messi already leading the race for Most Valuable Player in Major League Soccer with 18 goals and seven assists, adding another talented midfielder, who is in his prime, to the mix pushes them over the top.
De Paul will join a midfield that already contains Busquets and Telasaco Segovia, while Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Messi will push the attack to new highs. It took a bit of financial maneuvering to get this deal done, but at least technically, this roster is within MLS rules. Miami pushing the limits on what can be a legal roster is also something that’s good for the league in showing that some of the constraints can make things extremely challenging to acquire top-level talent.
Here’s what to know:
How’d Miami register De Paul?
With their Designated Player spots tapped out, and each player making higher than the threshold that can be brought down to be a Targeted Allocation Money player. Miami weren’t able to add De Paul as a Designated Player as they already had three (Messi, Busquets, Jordi Alba), so instead he joins on loan as a TAM player with a purchase option to be added for around $17 million ahead of next season, which would see him become a Designated Player, according to reports.The option is key here. If it were an obligation to buy, De Paul would need to be a Designated Player now, but with the option, he can have a different designation for this season versus what it will be next season. A retirement or change in salary for Alba or Busquets at the end of the season could be how they make it work.
The Herons could already have a gentleman’s agreement to pick up that option in the coming campaign, but via technicalities, they’re roster compliant. To complete adding De Paul to the roster, a trade was made with Atlanta United where the Herons sent $225,000 in General Allocation Money and Leonardo Alphonso in exchange for an international roster spot for the remainder of the season. This ensures that De Paul will be on the roster in time for Miami to kick off Leagues Cup, similarly to how Messi was added en route to the Herons winning this very tournament in 2023 for the first trophy in club history, and expectations are just as high this time around. They’ll kick off the Leagues Cup facing Atlas on Wednesday, and it’s where De Paul could make his debut in some capacity.
A true game-changer on the pitch
De Paul is an impressive get for Miami. His addition does show that Federico Redondo hasn’t worked out as expected to add legs next to Busquets in midfield, but there’s no easier way to move past that than by adding a player who has been alongside Messi with Argentina for years. Usually, when players of De Paul’s caliber join MLS, they’re past their prime, such as Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Andrea Pirlo, but the Argentine is only 31 and, despite logging quite a few minutes during his career, should have something to give in MLS.
Adding such a dynamic presence will let Busquets pick up deeper positions on the pitch while protecting the defense. Miami have only kept one clean sheet in their last six matches, and while they did win four of those, dropping any points when chasing FC Cincinnati, the Columbus Crew and the Philadelphia Union, will mean not having advantageous seeding moving forward when it comes time for the MLS playoffs. De Paul isn’t just a defensive midfielder; he can also link up play and rip a shot from distance, as shown by him having at least eight goals and assists in league play for Atleti during the last three seasons. Any team in Europe would love to have De Paul in their squad, but it’s Miami who were able to secure his services thanks to having Messi in the squad.
While Messi is set to go down as the best overall signing in league history, De Paul is someone who has the tools to go down as the best signing of a pure midfielder in league history. When considering age and talent level, De Paul could last longer in MLS than either while making a bigger impact on both ends of the pitch in pursuit of domestic and international glory.
How to watch Inter Miami vs. Atlas, odds
- Date: Wednesday, July 30 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Live stream: MLS Season Pass
- Odds: Inter Miami -239; Draw +375; Atlas +550
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