Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas shares major update on Lionel Messi teammate’s possible return for 2026 MLS

Lionel Messi emerged as the MVP of the 2025 MLS season with a series of standout performances that continued to amaze fans, but his squad also suffered several setbacks toward the end of the campaign. As Inter Miami now turns its focus to the 2026 MLS season, co-owner Jorge Mas provided a major update regarding the potential return of a former player who was part of Messi’s supporting cast.

With Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba stepping away from the team following their decisions to retire, the club’s front office has worked aggressively to strengthen the roster for what is expected to be an even more ambitious 2026 campaign. Alongside key additions such as Sergio Reguilón and David Ayala, Inter Miami have already confirmed the return of goal scorer Tadeo Allende and are now exploring the possibility of bringing back another contributor from their 2025 MLS Cup–winning squad.

As the team returned to training on Saturday, Mas addressed the media and was asked directly about the status of a potential deal for Baltasar Rodríguez. The co-owner was candid in his response: “Baltasar is not with us right now. There were certain options with Racing, there are conversations ongoing with Racing… we’ll see. Balta is a great kid, a great player on the squad.“

Despite Inter Miami being one of the most aggressive MLS teams in the current transfer window, Mas also tempered expectations by pointing to the league’s financial restrictions. “Obviously, we have to operate within an economic reality and within the league’s parameters,” he added, emphasizing the limitations imposed by the salary cap and roster rules.

Mas concluded by suggesting that negotiations between Racing Club and Inter Miami remain far from finalized: “If there is any possibility of bringing Balta back, we will do it, but under the terms that were agreed upon when we originally signed Balta, his return to Inter Miami will not be possible.”

Earlier this week, Argentine transfer insider Germán García Grova reported that Inter Miami had already reached a personal agreement with Rodríguez regarding a return to MLS. According to those reports, the club submitted a $4.5 million counteroffer to Racing, but as Mas recently acknowledged, it may still take more time for both sides to close the deal.

Why didn’t Inter Miami trigger Rodríguez’s release clause?

Inter Miami initially signed Baltasar Rodríguez on loan for the 2025 season, with the expectation that he would remain with the club for the duration of the campaign. He went on to become an important piece of Messi’s squad, but with the loan expiring and the conditions of the purchase clause unmet, Rodríguez ultimately returned to Racing ahead of the 2026 season.

The agreement included a $5 million option to purchase 80 percent of the player’s economic rights, which would have become mandatory had Rodríguez played at least 66 percent of the available minutes during Inter Miami’s season. However, he logged just 1,081 minutes across 22 appearances (most of them late in the year) preventing the clause from being triggered and sending the midfielder back to Argentina.

Although Inter Miami are now showing renewed interest in re-signing Rodríguez, the club previously prioritized other moves, including Reguilón as Alba’s replacement, Ayala as Busquets’ successor, goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, and the return of Allende. With those deals now completed, the front office has shifted its attention back to Rodríguez, but the timing could make his return to the MLS more costly than originally anticipated.