Sergio Ramos A Better Fit for Inter Miami

With Lionel Messi already in the lineup, the rumor mill continues to spin on who the next player to come to South Florida may be.

Could Sergio Ramos be the next in line to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami?
Could Sergio Ramos be the next in line to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami? | Tim Clayton - Corbis/GettyImages

It was expected that once Inter Miami officially signed Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets, rumors would start to fly on who else the Herons would bring to South Florida.

Of course, Jordi Alba turned out to be more than a rumor as he has joined the squad.

And news that Inter Miami spent $150,000 in General Allocation Money to buy an additional international player spot from San Jose only fueled speculation.

Let’s look at the rumors and which is the best option for the Herons moving forward.

Luis Suarez Has the Most Traction As An Inter Miami Rumor

The biggest rumor tied to Inter Miami is that another of Messi’s former Barcelona teammates, Luis Suarez, wants to come to South Florida.

The latest rumor news from The Metro is that Suarez is willing to pony up the money to buy out his contract with Brazilian side Gremio in order to move to Miami.

He’s in the first year of his contract with Gremio after joining them from Uruguayan side Nacional. The contract is for two years, but the mill suggests he will pay that off just to move and play with Messi.

Herons’ co-owner Jorge Mas said that Suarez was a Gremio player and that the status of the contract was between Suarez and Gremio.

But…

"If he were to become free of his contract, he is someone we could be interested in."
Jorge Mas, Inter Miami co-owner

The other issue with Suarez is injury.

It’s the worst-kept secret south of the border that Suarez suffers from nagging knee issues that have kept him either completely off the pitch or seriously limited his playing time.

To bring on a player with that kind of lingering issue would be a significant risk for the Herons.

Plus, with Messi, Josef Martinez, Leonardo Compana, Robbie Robinson and Robert Taylor, Inter Miami already has good attacking options up front.

Player

Position

Player Category

Arroyo

M

International

Busquets

M

Designated Player, International

Campana

F

Young Designated Player

Jean

F

International

Kryvtsov

D

International

Marsman

GK

Martinez

F

Designated Player

McVey

D

Messi

F

Designated Player, International

Miller

D

Jean Mota

M

International

Negri

D

International

Stefanelli

F

International

Taylor

M

Ulloa

M

Yedlin

D

Gregore

M

Designated Player

Breakdown

8 -- International

3 -- Designated Players; 1 -- Young Designated Player

Sergio Ramos Could Fill A Big Void for the Herons

The other big rumor for Inter Miami is former Paris-St. Germain defender Sergio Ramos is in line to join the club.

The Sun reports that Inter Miami is “one step away” from inking another of Messi’s teammates and snatching him away from the waiting claws of Saudi Arabia.

After 16 years with Real Madrid — where he had plenty of opportunity to play with Messi — Ramos joined PSG on a free transfer in 2021.

He allowed his two-year contract in Paris to expire and now sits without a team.

Reports are Ramos is choosing between Inter Miami and an unknown team in the Saudi Pro League — where he would join the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and others.

Ramos won a pair of La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, but the superstar impact could be enough to drive him to South Florida.

In addition to his accolades with Real Madrid, Ramos has 180 caps with the Spanish national team — where he played along with fellow Inter Miami signee Jordi Alba.

To me, the decision — if there is one to be had — is pretty simple. Inter Miami’s defense is nothing short of lackluster and could use all the help it could get.

It certainly needs more help than Inter’s offense.

Don’t get me wrong, Alba is a great start to improve the back line for Inter Miami, but he may not be enough.

Being able to add in a defensive player of Ramos’ ability would give the Herons a ton of help to back up goalkeeper Drake Callender.

And this is all based on the assumption that Inter Miami spent the GAM money to bring in someone else and didn’t plan to use the role for any of the other players it's already picked up this transfer season.

It may be a situation where Inter Miami can bring in both players, but the question would be what is the designation of both players to keep Inter Miami out of the eyeline of Major League Soccer?