Di María’s plan to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami: when could he move to MLS?

Reports suggest the former Real Madrid winger has already plotted a move to join Argentina teammate Messi in the United States.

Inter Miami have become Major League Soccer’s biggest story in the last 12 months or so, with the signings of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba catapulting the team to the top of the Eastern Conference and overall standings in 2024. Now, it appears another global superstar could be set to join the MLS ranks in Florida - Ángel Di María.

When could Di María join Inter Miami? Rosario Central move first

According to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, the Benfica winger has his future all mapped out. The plan is for Di María to spend the last six months of 2024 with Rosario Central, his first club in Argentina, before joining The Herons in 2025, where he would finish his career alongside long-time international teammate Messi.

Despite being 36, Di María has set his sights on not one but two “final” flings, with the 2025 MLS season reported to be his last in professional soccer. Were that to transpire, the player’s wife and daughters would move straight to Miami from Lisbon this summer, with him joining them six months later at the start of next year, A Bola claims.

Di María’s contract with Benfica expires on 30 June and, following the 2024 Copa América in the United States, he looks set to return to South America with Rosario Central after a successful career in Europe with Real Madrid, PSG and Juventus.

The challenge for Inter Miami would be to incorporate the Argentine into their roster while sticking to the MLS’ roster rules and regulations.

Di María to retire from Argentina after 2024 Copa América

While the report sheds some light on how Di María could end his club career, we already know when his time with the Argentinian national team will draw to a close.

The attacker, who scored the second goal in La Albiceleste’s 2022 World Cup final victory over France, announced in October he would be retiring from international duty after the 2024 Copa América, which will be held in the United States from 20 June to 14 July.

Argentina will play warm-up games against Ecuador (Sunday 9 June) and Guatemala (Friday 14 June) before kicking off the tournament against Canada on Thursday 20 June. Lionel Scaloni’s team will also face Chile (Tuesday 25 June) and Peru (Saturday 29 June) in Group A.

That means Di María, who has 138 caps, has a minimum of five matches left for Argentina, although they will expect to reach the latter stages of a competition they won in 2021.