FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Rodrigo De Paul has enjoyed years of playing alongside Lionel Messi for Argentina's national team, but the star midfielder said that for a long time, he's dreamed of playing on the same club with his good friend.
“Every time we would meet in the national team, the day-to-day was amazing," De Paul said through an interpreter, “but at the end of the day, it ended up being quite short. I also wanted to feel that sensation of playing alongside the best.”
So when Messi joined Inter Miami of Major League Soccer in 2023, De Paul started paying attention. He caught MLS matches when he could — between his busy schedule with then-club Atletico Madrid — and admired what Messi, co-owner David Beckham and Inter Miami were building in South Florida.
Then Beckham approached De Paul with the idea of joining Inter Miami, and the 31-year-old made the choice to be a part of a league that intrigued him.
“It was spectacular to be able to play in Europe in the best leagues in the world,” De Paul said Friday morning at an introductory news conference, one week after he officially signed with Inter Miami on loan. The loan will run through the end of the 2025 MLS season and includes an option to make the transfer permanent through the 2029 season.
De Paul, a World Cup champion with Messi and Argentina and a two-time Copa America winner, said he had a few offers to stay in Europe, but likes the challenge of a transition to MLS and knows a lot will be expected of him.
“I want to learn abut this league,” De Paul said. “I want to be a part of this growth. ... I want to be part of (Inter Miami) and set a precedent so that players don’t come here only for the end of their careers. We want players to feel like coming to this club is a commitment to the city and to the fans.”
De Paul made his Inter Miami debut Wednesday in a 2-1 League's Cup win over Liga MX club Atlas. He played the full 90 minutes despite not having formally trained with his new team.
Miami coach Javier Mascherano was impressed with De Paul's effort. He hadn't played in a match since Atletico Madrid exited the Club World Cup about a month ago, but De Paul was active and vocal on the pitch.
“Seeing him do what he did until the final minute is what we hoped to see from a player like him,” Mascherano said after Wednesday's match. “We want him to be himself here and have that type of effort and level of play rub off on the rest of us as a team.”
De Paul played for Atletico Madrid since 2021 after joining the Spanish club from Udinese, where he played since 2016. De Paul has played in 356 career matches with 45 goals and 56 assists.
The move to Inter Miami gives De Paul and Messi a way to continue building their chemistry as they prepare for next summer's World Cup.
“For me, the most important thing of all is the Argentina national team,” De Paul said, adding that he spoke with his national team manager Lionel Scaloni before joining Inter Miami.
“He told me, ‘I know what you can give me on the field. I know who you are,'" De Paul said. "'I’m only going to evaluate what you do on the field. As long as you play and you’re feeling well, I know the class of player that you are.’ I needed to hear those words.”
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Latest
Featured
