Inter Miami is holding talks with Atlético Madrid to sign Rodrigo De Paul, sources confirmed with ESPN.
Co-owner Jorge Mas traveled to Madrid to initiate negotiations between the two parties in order to bring the Argentine midfielder to the MLS club.
In order to sign the player, Inter Miami would likely need to free up contract space by liberating one of three Designated Player roster spots currently held by Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. Alba recently signed an extension with the club through the 2027 MLS season, but Messi and Busquets will be out of contract in December.
Sources confirmed to ESPN that contract negotiations between Messi and the club remain ongoing, with both parties interested in continuing the relationship on the field beyond 2025.
Mas told ESPN, however, that Busquets and the club have not begun conversations over a new deal, though the door remains open to the player, according to the team's co-owner.
The interest for De Paul comes from Mas' recent vow to do anything necessary and possible to keep Inter Miami competing at the highest level.
"There is a bevy of stars that I think we will bring here because we aspire to more than one star. Do we have an idea of who those players are? Yes," Mas told ESPN in June. "It's not only about Major League Soccer. It's about wanting to be the best team in the hemisphere, including teams in South and Central America, including teams not only in our confederation of Concacaf."
Meanwhile, Atlético Madrid are prepared to offload De Paul this summer if the Argentina midfielder refuses to sign a contract extension with the Rojiblancos in the coming weeks, a source has told ESPN.
The same source, has, however, stated that Atlético coach Diego Simeone would oppose De Paul leaving the club as he considers him a key player in his squad.
De Paul, 31, has one year left on his contract and Atlético want to avoid losing the player as a free agent in June 2026.
According to reports, Miami are aware that the incentive of having captain Lionel Messi in the team would help convince his Argentina teammate De Paul to join the MLS side.
However, Miami would never be able to meet the transfer fee that Atlético would demand for De Paul even if the clubs have an excellent relationship thanks to the friendship that exists between Atlético CEO Miguel Angel Gil and his Miami counterpart Mas.
De Paul's potential departure would be a problem for Simeone, who would need to find a midfielder that has the similar qualities to the Argentinian.
Another source has told ESPN that should De Paul depart this summer, one of the preferred candidates to replace him would be Valencia midfielder Javi Guerra, who was close to joining Atlético last summer.
There is also the concern, according to another source, that De Paul's exit could have mid-term consequences in the team. De Paul is close to fellow Argentinian Julián Álvarez in the locker room.
Atlético have added midfielder Álex Baena from Villarreal and left-back Matteo Ruggeri from Atalanta. They have also signed defender Clément Lenglet and goalkeeper Juan Musso to permanent deals
Atlético expect to announce the signing of Real Betis midfielder Johnny Cardoso at the end of the week. The announcement of Cardoso's signing has been delayed with the player having been on international duty with the United States at the Gold Cup.
Adriana Garcia contributed to this report.