An Argentina international has shared that Inter Miami tried to sign him before making the decision to move to Europe.
MLS clubs have made South American prospects their main transfer targets of late before flipping them on to European clubs, with Inter Miami close to selling Diego Gomez to Brighton & Hove Albion just one year after signing the Paraguayan midfielder.
With the Herons also signing Federico Redondo, it’s clear that Inter Miami are intent on following this path as a way of generating potential revenue in the future as well as building out the squad with top talents.
And one Argentina superstar has now said Inter Miami tried to sign him some years ago.
Exequiel Palacios shares Inter Miami offer before joining Bayer Leverkusen
Speaking to Clank, Bayer Leverkusen star and Argentina international Exequiel Palacios revealed that Inter Miami made an offer to sign the midfielder in 2019, with Bayer Leverkusen eventually winning the race for the-then River Plate talent.
At 25-years-old, Palacios has since established himself as a regular for Argentina and last season won a domestic double with Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso, yet things could have been different had the midfielder opted to move to Inter Miami instead.
Palacios said on Inter Miami’s approach for him: “In 2019 I had two options on the table, Bayer Leverkusen or Inter Miami. Miami offered me more money than Bayer, much more, but there were two things that were on my mind.
“First, I felt that Bayer were more interested in me. They came to my house with a translator to tell me that they wanted me. And then I spoke to Pinola, and he told me not to hesitate, to go to Germany, to go to that league. I discussed it with my family and felt I was ready to go to Europe.”
Palacios would have been way too good for MLS
MLS teams have landed some truly top prospects from South America over the years, yet Palacios heading to Inter Miami, even back in 2019, would have felt like a leap too far given how good the Argentine is.
Indeed, the midfielder made the right call in going to Europe when he had the chance, with Palacios playing a key part for Alonso in last season’s historic double-winning season for Leverkusen.
And with Inter Miami finding their own success stories in Gomez, the Herons could now have the profile to land the next Palacios, with Lionel Messi alone a huge pull for South American prospects looking to find their next club.