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Lionel Messi's club Inter Miami have made a decision on signing Manchester City legend Kevin de Bruyne (via Tribal Football). The playmaker has opted to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer, which has sparked a frenzy of interest.
It has been reported that MLS side Chicago Fire are leading the pursuit for the 33-year-old midfielder, whose contract at City will expire on June 30. Inter Miami initially possessed De Bruyne's MLS discovery rights, in that they had priority to negotiate with him ahead of other clubs.
However, three of their Designated Player (DP) roster positions have been taken up by Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. This has reduced Miami's prospects of signing De Bruyne, and the limitation has paved the way for other MLS clubs to bid for the midfielder.
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Chicago Fire reportedly seized this opportunity, according to BBC Sport (via Tribal Football), initiating talks with De Bruyne's agents. The club have an open DP slot, and the Belgian star can fill it. De Bruyne is reportedly keen to move to Chicago, viewing it as a curious venture.
While it appears most likely that MLS will be the destination, the Manchester City midfielder has also been a target of Saudi Pro League teams. Al-Ittihad, specifically, had shown interest last year, but reports indicated that negotiations collapsed over Manchester City's price tag.
Lionel Messi showed frustration in Inter Miami's 4-1 win over Red Bulls: former MLS forward
Former MLS forward Herculez Gomez revealed that Lionel Messi showed some frustration in Inter Miami's 4-1 win over New York Red Bulls. The legendary playmaker had a brilliant performance to cap the dominant win with a goal on May 3.
However, Messi stormed off the field afterwards, which piqued the attention of the media. Former USMNT forward Herculez Gomez said on Fútbol Americas that Messi's outburst is due to a lack of chemistry with some of his teammates. Gomez explained (via GOAL):
“He tries to play a pass, a quick one-two to Fafa Picault, and Fafa Picault gets it stuck between his feet, and you can see Messi just frustrated. There’s a certain not frustration but fed up, he’s annoyed with how things are going. I don’t think he quite expected this heading into Inter Miami, and the recent failures are being magnified."
This follows a tough spell for Inter Miami, including a 5–1 aggregate loss to Vancouver Whitecaps in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals and a 4–3 loss to FC Dallas. These losses have raised questions about manager Javier Mascherano's ability to make Lionel Messi and his teammates gel properly.
