Inter Miami's co-owner has signalled the MLS club's ambition to help catapult the standard of the league to unprecedented levels with superstar signings.
The Floridan franchise already shocked the sporting world by winning the race for the legendary forward Lionel Messi, with his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets also set to make the switch to South Beach. However, the club - which counts David Beckham among its backers — is not due to stop there when it comes to recruiting household names this summer.
Although the Herons' fortunes have been pretty dismal this season, with the ailing team currently languishing in bottom place of the MLS Eastern Conference, it is clear that the club's hierarchy has designs on promptly turning this around. Now, aside from the signings of Camp Nou icons Messi and Busquets, the Vice City franchise's president has expressed his desire to make as many as three more blockbuster additions in the coming months.
The outspoken Jorge Mas has lofty aspirations for the fledgling outfit and is hoping that the former Blaugrana stars could well be joined by some familiar faces imminently. In fact, the billionaire businessman has forecasted any potential deals to be concluded before Messi makes his bow against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on July 21.
The 60-year-old tycoon told El Pais: “Two or three more players will come. We spoke with Jordi Alba — while Luis Suarez has a contract and a release clause. I don't know if that will happen or not. All the announcements will be made before July 15.”
As it stands, Inter Miami is experiencing a torrid run of some nine MLS games without a win, which included seven losses in succession prior to their recent 1-1 draw against Austin FC. Former Lionesses coach Phil Neville was also relieved of his duties at the beginning of June as a result of the team's woes during this campaign so far.
This said, the hope will now be that the capturing of a host of stars can help to turn the team's form around in the coming months, especially following the installation of former Argentina and Barcelona manager Tata Martino as head coach. Clearly, confidence is not in short supply when it comes to the long term for co-owner Mas in spite of the team's recent problems on the pitch either.
In fact, he appears to be resolute in his belief that the signing of Messi can act as a catalyst in improving the wider standard of MLS, even going as far as to predict that the league could become one of the world's leading divisions in the future. Speaking to El Pais he added: "In 2019 we started thinking about how we could bring him [to the club].
"Messi can turn MLS into the second or third best league in the world. I think he will want to make his mark, and he will be able to do it beyond football."
For the meantime, Inter Miami will be tasked with finding a way to accommodate these prospective potential recruits, especially given that they already have the maximum of three Designated Players (DPs) earning in excess of the league's salary cap on their books. With Gregore, Rodolfo Pizarro and Leonardo Campana already taking up these spots on the club's roster, their current contracts may need to be renegotiated or they may need to be sold.
