Prior to this summer, every time Lionel Messi and his family were in Miami was usually for vacation purposes. According to the New York Post, the Argentine spent $5 million on a property in Sunny Isles Beach, Miami, back in 2019. His love for this city seems to have aided Inter Miami’s efforts to bring him to the United States as he chose the Florida-based club over a big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
However, as seen with his rival Christiano Ronaldo, the Argentine was not the only high-profile name to move to a relatively unknown league. Some major names have already followed with more teased for the future.
Lionel Messi’s reunion with World Cup teammate ignites transfer rumor
According to Goal.com, Rodrigo De Paul once said in an interview in 2020 that he could go to war for Lionel Messi, and he likely meant every word of that statement, as proven by his efforts in Argentina’s World Cup campaign in Qatar last winter.
De Paul has now been spotted in Miami hanging out with Lionel Messi and David Beckham. The former England captain posted on his Instagram with the caption, “Two World Champions,” tagging De Paul and Inter Miami on the post.
This has now sparked a rumor among fans that the club may be working on bringing De Paul to Inter Miami after reuniting Messi with two of his former Barcelona teammates, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
On the flip side, it could take a lot of work to tempt De Paul to leave European football for a US franchise at this point in his career. The Argentine is just 29 years old and is scheduled to play Champions League football with Atletico Madrid next season.
Who is known as Messi’s bodyguard?
Anyone that wants to get to Lionel Messi usually has to go through Rodrigo De Paul because the Atleti midfielder is Messi’s unofficial bodyguard. De Paul is one of the players that look ready to protect Messi at all costs, and he made this clear in 2020 when he declared his readiness to go to war for his compatriot.
“When Lionel Messi is your captain, you go to war for him,” the 29-year-old told FIFA in 2020. “Leo is untouchable. The rest of us contribute by doing whatever is asked of us,” he concluded.
The way De Paul defends Messi 😂 I love this guy so much pic.twitter.com/PHzh32L9zO
— R (@Lionel30i) September 24, 2022
While Messi continues to shine in the MLS for Inter Miami, De Paul is preparing for the new La Liga season that is set to kickstart this weekend.
Do you think the 29-year-old will indeed make a move to the US? Let us know what you think below!
