After beginning their MLS title defense on the wrong foot following the 3-0 loss to Los Angeles FC in their debut, Inter Miami is thinking about how to bolster its team for 2026, when it will once again carry the label of contender in every tournament it plays. This is why they have set their sights on Casemiro, one of the best defensive midfielders of the 21st century, who has already announced that he will not continue with Manchester United when the season ends.

According to Spanish media outlets AS and Mundo Deportivo, Inter Miami held conversations with Casemiro and his entourage to arrange his arrival as a free agent in the middle of the year. It should be noted that the Herons suffered a significant loss in that position, as Sergio Busquets, another elite footballer who occupied the center of midfield, retired at the end of 2025.

Beyond reinforcing that area with Argentine David Ayala, a product of the Estudiantes youth system and former teammate of Javier Mascherano during his brief stint with El Pincha, they are targeting the former Real Madrid player as a marquee signing for the American summer.

In this regard, European portals affirm that "Casemiro would have already traveled with his wife to visit Miami, where he would have met with the executive board," made up of David Beckham and Jorge Mas.

If the operation comes to fruition, Casemiro will share a locker room with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Jordi Alba, three of his rivals in the heated duels between Barcelona and Real Madrid over the last decade. Not to mention that with the Argentine and the Uruguayan, he also starred in heated matches representing the Brazilian national team in both the Qualifiers and the Copa America tournaments.

Beyond the fact that they were on opposite sides on the playing fields, the 34-year-old Brazilian has always shown himself to be in awe of the Rosario star. "I played many times against Messi, alone, I have never been able to stop him, it's impossible. I had help from Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos... but alone it was impossible," he declared in an interview with Diario AS a few months ago. The history between the two is more than even: of the 21 encounters, both have won eight and drawn the remaining five.

Casemiro emerged from Sao Paulo's youth ranks, the club where he made his professional debut in 2010. After three outstanding years in the Brasileirao, he was acquired by Real Madrid, who loaned him to Porto before establishing him as the starting defensive midfielder for a team that left its mark on the club's rich history.

After 336 matches and 16 titles, he emigrated to Manchester United in 2022. Despite having standout performances, he was a victim of the football crisis the team went through in recent years and was never quite able to live up to what he had shown at the Santiago Bernabeu. Even so, he has already worn the Red Devils' shirt in 150 matches and scored 22 goals.

At 34 years old, the midfielder is writing the final pages of a career that will place him as one of the best in history in his position. In this sense, Inter Miami appears to be a more than attractive destination to conclude his career within a competitive team and share a locker room with other great stars.

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