Winning has to bring you a lot of joy — it has to make you very happy — and losing has to hurt a lot. You can’t be indifferent either way, and that’s the standard we need to set.
Those were some of Rodrigo De Paul's first remarks upon joining Inter Miami and Major League Soccer earlier this year, but his recent actions have invited scrutiny over whether he is living up to those very words.
Lionel Messi and Miami are in the midst of a tightly contested best-of-three play-off series with Nashville SC, but De Paul has apparently taken back-to-back trips to his native Argentina during the start of this MLS Cup run at least in part to watch singer girlfriend Tini perform in concert at her multi-show 'Futttura' festival in Buenos Aires.
Rodrigo De Paul's focus called into question at Inter Miami
The timing of the 31-year-old midfielder's suspected getaways has drawn attention, and just as the South Florida team looks to exorcize its first-round demons from a season ago.
De Paul's first visit, spotted on camera by attendees, was sandwiched between Games 1 and 2 of the first-round series with Nashville. The second appeared to happen more discreetly this past weekend. Colombian musician Juanes’ wife posted images to her Instagram story that seemingly showed De Paul present during Sunday rehearsals, a day after a tough Game 2 road loss that has Inter Miami facing possible elimination this Saturday.
While De Paul has likely been granted permission by Inter Miami to head down to South America during rest days, the roughly 18 hours of round-trip travel surely can't be helping the World Cup winner optimize the limited downtime he has to recover, recharge, and refocus during the decisive stage of the MLS campaign.
De Paul may technically be allowed to go, but that does not make it any less unusual during a time of year in which teams usually tighten routines rather than loosen them.
"I'm the type of coach that does not tell players what they have to do when I give them days off," Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano said, a day before Nashville SC beat a flat Inter Miami, 2-1, to force a do-or-die Game 3. "That is why you are giving them days off. Their private lives are their private lives. I have no reason to be getting involved in their private lives."
Mascherano's stance may be pragmatic and rooted in trust, but is it believable? Does everyone on the Inter Miami roster actually have the freedom to globe-trot thousands of miles away, party freely until dawn, and treat days off like a reward rather than a responsibility?
That kind of hands-off approach also risks exposing everyone involved — Mascherano, De Paul, Inter Miami, Major League Soccer — to negative public perception. Watching a star player jet off to another continent to dance in a crowd and mingle backstage with celebrities during the most crucial stretch of the season does little to dispel the “retirement league” label that critics continue to pin on MLS.
To the league's credit, De Paul has reportedly had similar situations in the past. For example, he allegedly told Atletico Madrid in fall 2022 that he needed to travel to Argentina to spend time with his ill father, only to later be discovered in Miami with Tini.
De Paul might deserve 'Boyfriend of the Year' recognition given the lengths he goes for love, but he is also expected to demonstrate that same level of consistent passion and effort on the field. He even said as much when he first arrived in MLS back in July.
“Winning has to bring you a lot of joy — it has to make you very happy — and losing has to hurt a lot,” De Paul said upon joining Inter Miami on loan through the rest of the 2025 campaign. “You can’t be indifferent, and that’s the standard we need to set.
“Here, there’s a level of demand — starting with the greatest of them all, who chose to come to Inter Miami — that we have to become champions. To become champions, you have to make very few mistakes.
“The mentality is something we’ll surely build day by day, but I’ll be doing my part.”
De Paul, to this point, has not fully lived up to expectations with his new team. A mix of factors — not having a proper preseason, adapting to new surroundings, initially being played out of position, etc. — has led to inconsistent performances that have made his off-field behavior all the more noticeable.
For instance, De Paul delivered a solid first play-off game against Nashville before looking as poor individually as Inter Miami did collectively in Game 2 following his first Argentina trip.
Saturday's decisive home match against motivated Nashville presents De Paul with a chance to change perceptions. Help Inter Miami keep its championship dreams alive, and the optics around his personal life will improve on their own.
Lose, and they will only worsen.
"If there is one thing I have always been clear about in my career, it is that I never settle," De Paul said in October. "I have always believed that we can all give more through hard work, through experience, through know-how.
"Ultimately, it comes down to each person, but everything I have achieved in my career has been because I never settled. That has been a driving force in my life. I believe you can always give more."
