Inter Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez could be headed back to River Plate
Another key player may be leaving Inter Miami.
A league source confirmed reports out of Argentina that Inter Miami is in talks with River Plate about a one-year loan deal for defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez. The 29-year-old Argentine began his career at River in 2011 and played there three seasons.
He was signed by MLS club Atlanta United in 2017, played 95 games for them and was a fan favorite. He joined Inter Miami in July 2020 and started all 30 games in 2021. He was one of the rocks on Miami’s back line. Known for his passion and aggressive style, Gonzalez Pirez led MLS with 15 yellow cards last season.
Miami needed to unload a few higher-priced players to recoup revenue after being fined $2,271,250 in allocation funds in 2022 and 2023 as punishment for roster rules violations in the Blaise Matuidi contract. Gonzalez Pirez made $849,996 last season and several teams were interested in him.
Mexican playmaker Rodolfo Pizarro, one of Miami’s three designated players, is also on his way out, as the club finalizes a loan deal with Monterrey of Mexico’s Liga MX, two sources confirmed.
Also, Inter Miami is expected to sign 20-year-old midfielder Bryce Duke, who played 26 games for Los Angeles FC. The Arizona native played for the Real Salt Lake academy from 2016-18, and then went to Spain and joined the Barcelona FC Residency Academy before returning to MLS to join LAFC. He also played 12 games for the Las Vegas Lights USL team.
The 2022 Inter Miami roster will look quite different from 2021.
In the past month the club loaned Julian Carranza to Philadelphia Union, added midfielder/fullback Mo Adams from Atlanta United for the rights to backup goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira, winger/forward Ariel Lassiter (son of former MLS star Roy Lassiter) from Houston Dynamo and Brazilian midfielder Jean Mota from Santos. The club also re-signed veteran midfielder Victor Ulloa and traded winger Lewis Morgan to the New York Red Bulls for $1.2 million in general allocation money.
Inter Miami finished in 11th place in the Eastern Conference this season, four spots out of the playoffs. Training camp opens Jan. 17 and the season opener is at home Feb. 26 against the Chicago Fire.
Individual match tickets for the 17 home games are available through ticketmaster.com. Fans can also call 305-428-0611 for more information.
This story was originally published December 31, 2021 at 1:46 PM.