Inter Miami recognizes the significance of bolstering their lineup in order to compete on all fronts in 2024. Lionel Messi is said to have proposed that the Florida club sign Marcos Rojo, a Boca Juniors center defender with European experience who spent several years with Argentina’s national team.

Messi has already persuaded former teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, as well as compatriots Facundo Farias and Tomás Avilés, to join the club, and the last individual he persuaded was his good friend and former Barcelona teammate Luis Suárez.

In contrast, Rojo did not respond to Messi’s call and is set to remain with Boca next season. According to the Argentine publication La Nación, Rojo informed club president Juan Roman Riquelme of the US offer, and Riquelme encouraged him to stay because he is an important player of the squad.

Defense is of the utmost importance

With Rojo’s refusal to join a North American club during the winter transfer window, Miami’s goal is clear: they want to bolster their team with a solid center defense, particularly now that Kamal Miller has gone for the Portland Timbers.

The Canadian centre-back, a crucial player of the League Cup-winning squad, will join Phil Neville’s side for $635,000.

Miami’s key center-backs are now Avilés and Sergii Kryvtsov, but it is expected that they will be able to add an experienced player during the winter transfer window to shore up an area where they struggled last season.