Rodrigo De Paul joins Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, expected to debut in Leagues Cup

Miami Herald

25-07-2025

Lionel Messi will have another close friend and longtime teammate by his side for the remainder of this Inter Miami season and beyond.
As the Miami Herald and other outlets reported last week, Rodrigo De Paul, Messi's midfield mate on Argentina's national team, is headed to Inter Miami from Spanish club Atletico Madrid on a four-year loan-to-buy deal.
The loan will run through 2025 with Miami purchasing his contract after the loan period ends.
The official announcement came from the club on XXXXXXXX.
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas spent more than a week in Madrid in early July finalizing the deal, which includes a transfer/buyout fee in the $12 million to $15 million range, with potential for a higher fee if incentives are met.
De Paul is expected to make his Inter Miami debut during the Leagues Cup, which kicks off July 30 with a home game against Mexican club Atlas. The next two Leagues Cup games are against Necaxa Aug. 2 and Pumas Aug. 6, both at Chase Stadium.
The move adds a top-tier 31-year-old central midfielder to the Miami roster as the team aims to compete for the Leagues Cup title and the MLS Cup after a disappointing first round exit from the playoffs last season.
De Paul joined Atletico Madrid in 2021 from Udinese for a $41 million fee. His contract with the Spanish club expires in June 2026, but he decided to make the move to the United States now.
Nicknamed 'El Motorcito' (Little Motor) for his tireless work rate, De Paul will get to train and work with Messi every day in the buildup to the 2026 World Cup, which is being hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer.
He is a box-to-box midfielder who played a crucial role for Argentina in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America. Over 11 seasons in Italy and Spain, De Paul has played 356 games, scored 45 goals and had 56 assists.
Fox Sports commentator Alexi Lalas believes De Paul is a perfect fit for Inter Miami and MLS.
'He is in his prime and the style in which he plays, I think will translate immediately to what Major League Soccer is,' Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. 'I'm not saying he's crude or anything, but there is a ruggedness and a rawness to his game that is what makes him one of the greats in the world. I think it's going to translate. I think it's what Inter Miami needs.'
Lalas went on to praise Inter Miami owners Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham for making 'bold' moves to spend big and sign marquee players.
'I love that Inter Miami and Jorge Mas and David Beckham want to push the envelope,' Lalas said. 'They want to do big things, and they should be given the ability to do that, Yes, within the rules.
'People are yelling and saying, 'Oh, Inter Miami's getting favorable treatment.' Yeah. OK. If somebody wants to do something big that's going to benefit the team, and it's going to benefit the league, they are going to be given some leeway. And there's nothing stopping you, whatever team it is - Columbus or Colorado or anybody else out there - from thinking big and doing big.
'Yes, there is an attraction to Messi. Yes, there is an attraction to someplace like Miami that maybe other teams don't have. But if you want to spend big money and you want to do big, bold, dare I say it, arrogant things, I will support you, 100 percent.'
A charismatic player with a fashion flair, De Paul is a big fan of Beckham's and emulated the English star's hairdos, from the braids to the pulled-back half-ponytail to the hairband to the bleached blond look.
Like Beckham, whose wife Victoria was a singer with the Spice Girls, De Paul has a pop star girlfriend, Tini Stoessel, who is from Argentina and has a home in Miami.
De Paul did a stint with Spanish club Valencia from 2014-16, when Gary Neville was the coach there. Phil Neville, Gary's brother and the former Inter Miami coach, was an assistant coach with Valencia at that time and has fond memories of De Paul.
'He was a very talented young player with great energy and enthusiasm to play football,' Neville told the Miami Herald. 'He worked so hard every day, and you could tell he was going to have a really great career. He had an infectious personality in the locker room and was loved by all his teammates.'
Messi has the same type of telepathy with De Paul as he does with Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. De Paul always knows where Messi is, provides delivery to the Argentine icon and takes on the role of enforcer/bodyguard when the two are on the field together.
Messi already has a professional bodyguard, Yassine Cheuko, and now he will have a second.
Suarez, 38, and Busquets, 37, have not renewed their contracts, which expire at the end of this season. Busquets will make $8.8 million this season, second-highest salary on the team behind Messi ($20.5 million), and Suarez makes $1.5 million.
Neither player has addressed his future, but if Suarez and/or Busquets retire at the end of the year, De Paul will fulfill the role of world-class midfielder and confidant for Messi.
MLS rules allow just three Designated Players with salaries exceeding the league maximum. Right now, those are Messi, Busquets and Jordi Alba, who recently signed a contract extension through 2027. Messi has not signed his contract extension yet, but negotiations have been ongoing for months, and the deal is expected to be completed soon.
Messi's initial contract with Miami is valued at $150 million, with a large piece of that coming from equity in the club upon his retirement. He is expected to continue playing at least through 2026, the first season in Miami Freedom Park Stadium, which is under construction and scheduled to open early next year.