Backroom drama clouds Inter Miami’s MLS preseason

Major League Soccer club Inter Miami fell under fire Tuesday morning when it was announced that Raul Sanllehi, its President of Football Operations, was leaving his post after just seven months.

Sanllehi, a former director of football at Arsenal and Barcelona, assumed Miami’s President of Football Operations role in the summer of 2024. The club confirmed that he would be “re-assigned” within the organization.

Miami claims that Sanllehi’s sudden departure was intentional. “Raul’s move was pre-planned, in coordination with the closing of the window at the end of January and the many activities that the team has with the Club World Cup, World Cup and other matters pertaining to institutional relations,” Miami said in an official statement to Give Me Sport.

But sources around the club reported a verbal disagreement between Sanllehi and Messi just a few short days before the announcement.