World Sports: DePaul needs to cut his salary to join Miami International, which needs to adjust its lineup to meet economic requirements

World Sports reported that Atletico Madrid faces losing key player De Paul, who may join Miami International.

Although the situation is not clear, Argentine player De Paul seems to be expected to make a smooth transfer to the US club. Currently, Miami International admits that they want to sign the Atletico Madrid midfielder, but needs economic adjustments to complete the deal.

"We did have difficulties with signings because of the league's salary regulations, so we are looking for other solutions." Miami International head coach Mascherano said when referring to another potential new player in an interview a few days ago.

The management of this Florida team is actively operating behind the scenes, promoting the signing of Atletico Madrid midfielder and Messi's old friend in the Argentina national team. However, the Major League Soccer (MLS) has strict salary cap restrictions. By 2025, teams can spend up to $5 million in total salary, but there are some exceptions, such as the use of a franchised player quota (JDF), which allows clubs to break the salary cap for specific players. Miami International hopes to use this rule to sign DePaul.

According to the MLS regulations, each team can have up to three franchised players. The three franchise players of Miami International are Messi, Busquets and Alba. Alba has just renewed his contract recently, and Messi is expected to follow up soon. Although Suarez is an important and highly paid player, he does not occupy one of these three places. This means that if De Paul is to be introduced, Miami International must sacrifice Alba or Busquets' position.

In addition, since DePaul's salary at Atletico Madrid is far beyond the MLS's salary cap, he needs to accept a significant salary cut, and Miami International also needs to make internal economic adjustments to the existing lineup to ensure the deal can be reached.