Luis Suarez finalizing deal to join Messi, Inter Miami as early as December, report says
The Luis Suarez to Inter Miami talks are heating up and the Uruguayan star forward could sign as early as December.
On Wednesday, Spanish newspaper El Pais, which has covered Suarez closely since his days with FC Barcelona, reported that a deal reuniting Suarez with his former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba is in the works and could be finalized before the year’s end.
Suarez, 36, said in a previous interview that Inter Miami officials contacted Brazilian club Gremio, where he currently plays, in July, around the time Messi, Busquets and Alba signed, but no deal could be worked on at that time because he was signed through 2024.
Since then, Gremio agreed to let him explore options at the end of 2023, and his interest in joining Inter Miami is no secret. According to the El Pais report, the two sides have been exchanging emails and trying to come to terms for a one-year deal for the 2024 season with an option for 2025.
Suarez is considered one of the best strikers in recent history. He has won two European Golden Shoes, a Premier League Golden Boot and has scored more than 500 career goals for club and country.
“I committed with Gremio to try to play all the games I could, that is my way of showing gratitude,” Suarez said in an interview. “There were training days after games that the coach would tell me not to go, to rest, but I would go because I was committed to the club 100 percent.”
Suarez is planning to take a trip to Miami in December to finalize contract details with Inter Miami and begin house hunting, El Pais reported.
Gremio president Alberto Guerra told Brazilian radio station Gaucha ZH: “A lot can happen between now and the end of the year. We are concentrating on classifying for Copa Libertadores right now, and at the adequate time, if the opportunity presents itself to negotiate with Suarez, we will talk. Of course, we want him to stay, but the latest scenario has him leaving at the end of the year.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2023 at 3:08 PM.