{"id":128941,"date":"2026-01-23T09:58:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T09:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/128941\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T09:58:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T09:58:47","slug":"messis-inter-miami-reportedly-pursued-sons-star-lafc-teammate-before-turning-to-monterreys-berterame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/128941\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi\u2019s Inter Miami reportedly pursued Son\u2019s star LAFC teammate before turning to Monterrey\u2019s Berterame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inter Miami are close to finalizing a deal for Monterrey striker Germ\u00e1n Berterame as they continue to strengthen the squad around Lionel Messi<\/a> ahead of what promises to be an ambitious 2026 season. However, before shifting their focus to the Mexican international, the Herons reportedly made a push to sign one of Son Heung-min<\/a>\u2019s standout teammates at Los Angeles FC.<\/p>\n

With Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba now retired and Rodrigo De Paul expected to occupy one of the club\u2019s Designated Player slots alongside Messi, Inter Miami<\/a> still had room for another marquee addition. Beyond the return of Tadeo Allende, who will fill an international roster spot, the front office remained eager to inject more attacking firepower, turning its attention to one of Major League Soccer\u2019s elite performers.<\/p>\n

According to The Athletic\u2019s Tom Bogert, Inter Miami made an aggressive attempt to sign LAFC<\/a> forward Denis Bouanga. In search of a major boost in attack, the club targeted a player who has earned MLS Best XI honors in three consecutive seasons (2023, 2024 and 2025) as part of its effort to build an All-Star caliber roster.<\/p>\n

LAFC reportedly received an offer of around $13 million for Bouanga, who originally joined the club in 2022 for a fee under $5 million. Still, the Western Conference side quickly rejected the proposal, and the Gabon international, under contract through December 2027, was not interested in forcing a move.<\/p>\n

\"Denis<\/p>\n

LAFC\u2019s Denis Bouanga.<\/p>\n

After the bid was turned down, Inter Miami pivoted to Berterame. Bogert reports that Monterrey<\/a>, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, Atl\u00e9tico San Luis and the Fort Lauderdale-based club are already exchanging paperwork on a proposed $15 million transfer for full ownership of the striker\u2019s economic rights.<\/p>\n

\"Luis<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

Luis Su\u00e1rez could return to starting XI alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami as Mascherano addresses his role<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite Bouanga reportedly seeking an improved contract while ranking as the league\u2019s 19th-highest-paid player in 2025 ($3.7 million in guaranteed compensation according to the MLSPA), he is expected to continue partnering Son in LAFC\u2019s attack. Meanwhile, Messi appears poised to welcome another Spanish-speaking presence to Inter Miami\u2019s frontline.<\/p>\n

Comparison between Bouanga and Berterame<\/p>\n

Bouanga and Berterame both arrived at LAFC and Monterrey, respectively, during the 2022 summer transfer window. Since then, each striker has steadily developed, producing goals and assists at a comparable rate while logging a similar number of appearances for their clubs.<\/p>\n

Bouanga has scored 101 goals and added 42 assists in 152 matches for LAFC, playing a central role in the club\u2019s 2022 MLS Cup triumph, the 2022 Supporters\u2019 Shield and the 2024 U.S. Open Cup. He also finished as the top scorer in both the 2023 MLS season and the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup, surpassing Carlos Vela as the franchise\u2019s all-time leading scorer.<\/p>\n

Berterame, meanwhile, has made 153 appearances across all competitions for Monterrey, scoring 68 goals and recording 15 assists. Although Rayados have yet to lift silverware during his tenure, his consistent performances earned him a call-up to Javier Aguirre\u2019s Mexico national team, and he is now expected to be part of the squad for the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inter Miami are close to finalizing a deal for Monterrey striker Germ\u00e1n Berterame as they continue to strengthen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[10073,63686,1660,123,125,124,63687,63688],"class_list":{"0":"post-128941","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-inter-miami","9":"tag-lafc","10":"tag-lionel-messi","11":"tag-miami","12":"tag-miami-headlines","13":"tag-miami-news","14":"tag-monterrey","15":"tag-son-heung-min"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}