A contingent of former Barcelona stars is already developing at Inter Miami and the ambitious MLS club may have designs on adding yet another Camp Nou icon to its roster.
The Herons shocked the sporting world by beating the Blaugrana to the signature of Lionel Messi last month and followed this up with the signing of midfield maestro Sergio Busquets. On top of this, former Barca and Argentina boss Tata Martino is set to replace Phil Neville as the franchise's new head coach.
Clearly, with the South Beach outfit currently languishing at the bottom of MLS' Eastern Conference, these new superstar additions will have their work already cut out for them upon their arrival stateside. However, it seems that outspoken co-owner Jorge Mas is resolute in his desire to turn things around.
The billionaire businessman has vowed to transform the Floridan club's squad in the coming weeks, with as many as five signings potentially on the cards over the summer. In fact, the 60-year-old even revealed that talks had been undertaken with recently departed Barcelona veteran Jordi Alba over a move to the US.
Also admitting that Miami had explored a hypothetical move for legendary forward Luis Suarez, he previously told El Pais: "Two or three more players will come. We spoke with Jordi Alba — while Luis Suarez has a contract and a release clause. I don't know if that will happen or not."
The Spain captain left the Catalan giants at the end of his contract at the end of June after ten glorious seasons with the club which yielded six La Liga titles and one Champions League triumph. Now, according to the Athletic, the 34-year-old defender could be set for a new chapter alongside his former teammates Messi and Busquets out in MLS.
They report that Inter Miami chiefs are "increasingly confident" that a deal for the 93-time international can be struck, with the diminutive full-back not likely to take up a precious Designated Player (DP) spot. The club already has the maximum number of players on salaries in excess of the league's salary cap, even with the impending arrivals of Alba's former teammates.
The Herons' current DPs Gregore, Leoandro Campana and Rodolfo Pizarro are essentially in limbo at the moment when it comes to their long-term futures at DRV PNK Stadium. Essentially, with two DPs already joining that will mean that two of the club's existing players in those slots will either need to drop down to a regular slot or be moved on.
As it stands, it looks more likely that Pizarro will be transferred to a new club, especially with his current contract expiring in the next year. The Mexican has not failed to excel so far this term, failing to find the net in 12 outings, and is also the team's highest earner at present on $3.35 million (£2.63 million) a year.
Addressing his current situation, the 29-year-old emphasised that his future remains unresolved, saying: “I do think it’s hard, I have a contract. I didn’t know I could be traded anyways. It’s a bit strange. I think it’s the only league in the world that does this.”
