Higuain out, Messi or Ronaldo in? A crazy offseason awaits Inter Miami after positive strides in 2022

There’s an elephant in the room. Three of them to be precise.

With Higuain retiring, Pizarro on his way out and, perhaps, midseason acquisition Alejandro Pozuelo out of contract, Miami have an incredible amount of roster flexibility thanks to their three Designated Player spots. Now, there’s a chance Pozuelo does come back, as a DP or perhaps even on a TAM deal, but, even so, Miami will be in a position to chase stars.

And that’s what this team is all about: stars.

“We’ve proven that we can compete with anyone in this league on any given day and now it’s about adding three players of real quality that would make us a challenger for top four in my eyes,” Neville said. “Looking for top-end players, three players who are real match winners that can go into our starting 11 and really improve us.”

The first priority will be to replace Higuain with another superstar striker. Could it be used on, say, Luis Suarez, a player that has been linked to MLS for years? Or, perhaps, Cristiano Ronaldo, a player that, for many, would be the ultimate signing? Or could they even take a swing to sign Lionel Messi, who will be out of contract this summer at PSG?

Realistically, there are no shortage of options for Miami, who could follow in the footsteps of Toronto FC and try and lure an in-their-prime international or in the footsteps of Atlanta and try to sign South America’s next big thing.

One player that has been consistently linked is one of Messi and Suarez’s former Barca teammates, Sergio Busquets, who would provide a whole bunch of stability and leadership to the midfield. But is he a big enough name and would his style translate to MLS? To be determined.

Miami could add a midfielder, like Busquets, to run the game. Or they could add some attacking help to elevate their new striker. Or they could go unconventional and bring in a star center back to serve as a leader for their backline.

The point is that this is a big offseason for Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson and the rest of Miami’s sporting department. The club has the flexibility to bring in some game changers, and which ones they end up with will ultimately determine which direction this team moves in going forward.