Inter Miami signs Paraguay midfielder Matías Rojas

Inter Miami has signed Paraguay international Matías Rojas on an one-year contract through the 2024 season, helping to alleviate injury concerns within the roster.

The 28-year-old midfielder was most recently with Brazilian giants Corinthians, but recorded just 30 appearances since joining last summer. He failed to appear in a match since February due to a dispute with the front office over a lack of payments, according to reports in Brazil.

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Prior to Corinthians, Rojas spent time with Cerro Porteño (2014-2018) in Paraguay and Racing Club (2019-23) in Argentina.

“I’m happy, joining a spectacular Club like Inter Miami is a dream come true,” said Rojas. “I’m excited to compete and help my teammates achieve the team’s objectives.”

The player now arrives as a free agent that allows Inter Miami to continue abiding by Major League Soccer’s strict roster rules, a subject which head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino has been frequently outspoken on.

After Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Nashville, Martino lamented having to turn to rookies Yannick Bright and Leonardo Alfonso.

“In a league like MLS, that is so strict with roster rules, salary cap and academy players, we had to make certain movements to be able to count on Yannick Bright and Leo Alfonso,” he said.

“It wasn’t easy because we had to include them in the principal roster, and that involves having less money for other signings. This isn’t an ease that the league grants, and we have to replace important players with two players we selected 60 days ago in a draft.”

Rojas’ arrival will provide Miami with flexibility in the midfield, after regular starter Diego Gómez suffered an ankle sprain in the match against Nashville. Gómez is set to be sidelined for about six weeks while undergoing treatment.

Inter Miami currently has seven players unavailable due to injury, including Jordi Alba (hamstring), Leonardo Campana (hamstring) and Facundo Farías (ACL).

“We’re pleased to bring in attacking midfielder Matías Rojas,” said Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson. “He is a skillful and experienced player at both the club and national team levels whose versatility we believe will be an asset for the team.

“We think this addition helps strengthen our squad as we aim to compete for titles after a strong start of the MLS season.

Despite the absences, Miami leads the Eastern Conference table with 18 points from 10 games.