Kevin De Bruyne may join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami this summer after announcing his departure from Man City.
De Bruyne has declared that he will leave Manchester City at the end of the 2024–2025 campaign. The Belgian became a Premier League legend during his ten years with the team, winning nineteen titles.
The 33-year-old’s contract expires at the end of June, making him a free agent who might pursue his career at another US or European club. San Diego FC, an MLS expansion team, was once linked to De Bruyne, but it now appears that the midfield player may be moving to Miami.
It no longer seems impossible for De Bruyne to join Messi, Jordi Alaba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suárez at Inter Miami. According to The Athletic, the club actually owns De Bruyne’s MLS discovery rights, which grant Inter Miami the initial opportunity to engage in negotiations with the midfield player.
The Herons are now the front-runners to perhaps sign a contract with the Manchester City legend, despite the fact that there have been no rumours of formal contract negotiations with De Bruyne and Inter Miami.
A team (Inter Miami, in this case) can list five players they have the right to deal with before other teams can become involved, according to MLS discovery rights. The procedure deters MLS teams from competing with one another to raise a signing fee.
As long as the six-time Premier League winner is on Inter Miami’s list, no other MLS team is allowed to negotiate with him because the Herons own De Bruyne’s MLS discovery rights.
This is how De Bruyne could join Miami this summer
Given that Inter Miami currently has three designated player (DP) positions occupied by Messi, Alaba, and Busquets, De Bruyne would need to sign within the constraints of the Herons’ targeted allocation money (TAM). De Bruyne’s pay would be significantly less under the salary cap than it would be if he signed as a DP.
De Bruyne might, however, learn from Zlatan Ibrahimović. Since the Western Conference team already had three DPs, the Swedish star had to sign a $3 million TAM-level contract when he joined LA Galaxy in 2018.
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Ibrahimović agreed to a new contract worth $7.2 million as a DP after the season concluded. De Bruyne might follow in his footsteps, although he would require a DP spot to become available after the 2025 season. Therefore, one of Messi, Alba, or Busquets would have to decide whether to quit the team or accept a non-DP deal.
However, De Bruyne has other possibilities in MLS, Europe, and even Saudi Arabia, so the 33-year-old has a lot of choices when it comes to where he wants to go in the future.
