Not Sure About A Soap Opera: Luis Suarez Isn’t Coming to Inter Miami

To be clear, I never thought this was a great idea in the first place.

But we can finally close the door on the prospect of Lionel Messi’s former Barcelona teammate and Uruguay national, Luis Suarez coming to Inter Miami in this transfer window.

It was pretty much confirmed by his current club manager.

Let’s talk about it.

Suarez to Inter Miami Was Never Going to Happen

Rumors flew about Suarez breaking his contract with Brazilian club Gremio in order to join Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba in South Florida.

There were just too many variables that were making this deal next to impossible.

For one, Suarez still has a year on his contract with Gremio.

The Brazilian side was not going to let a key piece of its project go, even if Suarez was going to buy out the remainder of that contract.

Soccer contracts can be complex… you have buyout clauses, fees and teams have to negotiate with not only the player but the club they are currently playing.

If any one of those three parties — the player, interested team and current team — are not keen on a deal, it isn’t going to happen.

In this instance, Gremio wasn’t the least bit interested in parting with Suarez… no matter what the player wanted.

The second is Suarez’s knee.

It’s an unkept secret that Suarez, 36, has been hampered by recurring knee issues. It’s gone so far for some to suggest he may retire at the end of the current Brazilian season because of it.

While the prospect of getting a player the caliber of Suarez on any side is a nice idea, investing money and an all-important player slot on someone who apparently struggles that much with a knee injury is a huge risk.

And one that Inter Miami did not need to take.

Why Inter Miami Didn’t Need Luis Suarez

Let me back up… I like Luis Suarez. Ear-biting aside, I’ve been a fan since he laced up for Liverpool years ago.

So, it’s not an issue where I don’t like Suarez or don’t think he’s a good player. It’s rather an issue of good business and player management sense.

The big question is whether Inter Miami need additional firepower up front.

It will always be a “yes” answer, but it’s hard to really evaluate attacking needs when you just signed one of the most prolific attackers in history along with a central midfielder that can find him in attack with pinpoint accuracy (of course, I mean Busquets).

So, it’s going to take Inter Miami manager Tata Martino some time to really evaluate how Messi fits in and how the supporting cast needs to look.

We also have to remember, the Herons have Josef Martinez — who, I think, still has some very good playing time left in the tank.

Oh, and we can’t forget about Robert Taylor, who showed flashes of pure brilliance in Inter Miami’s 4-0 thrashing of Atlanta United in the Leagues Cup.

I also don’t think we’ve seen the full potential of Leonardo Campana upfront and, despite a lackluster performance against Cruz Azul, midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi showed a lot of promise against Atlanta.

The fact of the matter is that while Suarez would be another marquee signing in an already stellar transfer season for Inter Miami, he wasn’t a player we needed.

That’s not to say that bringing Suarez to the Herons in December isn’t a bad idea if all the pieces fall together and Inter Miami doesn’t sacrifice its roster for a player that may only have one season left.