Inter Miami trying to sign Sergio Busquets and Angel di Maria

Inter Miami CF bringing in Lionel Messi to Major League Soccer made headlines across the world on Wednesday. The superstar’s decision to choose Miami shocked many in the sport due to his other options. Messi essentially picked Miami over a massive proposal from Saudi Arabia. The Middle Eastern league was offering the Argentine around $1 billion to play for one of their teams.

Nevertheless, Messi will soon join Miami. The club, however, may not be done just yet with signing soccer stars. Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Miami is now shifting attention to two players close to Messi. The transfer guru stated on Wednesday that the MLS club is targeting Angel Di Maria and Sergio Busquets.

Duo heavily linked to Messi over recent seasons

Di Maria is currently an international teammate of Messi’s with Argentina. The duo were born in the same area of the country and have played in the national team together since 2008. Di Maria previously played for Real Madrid while Messi was with rivals Barcelona as well.

Busquets, on the other hand, was teammates with Messi at Barca for 13 years. The two played together at the Spanish club between 2008 and 2021. Messi departed Barca for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021. Busquets recently played his final competitive match for the Spanish giants and will now be a free agent.

Nabbing both di Maria and Busquets may be difficult for Miami

While Miami may be targeting both players to team up with Messi, they will find it difficult to sign the duo. Di Maria is reportedly still wanting to continue his career in Europe. The 35-year-old winger is also now a free agent after leaving Juventus this month. Benfica, a team Di Maria previously played three seasons at, is supposedly interested in a reunion with the winger.

Signing Busquets seems a far more likely scenario for Miami. The club is reportedly already in negotiations to re-join the midfielder with Messi. However, much like Messi, Busquets is discussing a possible transfer to Saudi clubs as well. Messi opting to join the MLS side could be a major factor in the midfielder’s final decision though.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Uwe Kraft