Why Inter Miami Are Leading the Kevin De Bruyne Transfer Race | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne could potentially be on his way to play alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami this summer.

De Bruyne recently announced his impending departure from Manchester City at the end of the 2024–25 season. The Belgian spent 10 years with the club, won 19 trophies and established himself as a Premier League legend.

Once his contract expires at the end of June, the 33-year-old will be a free agent and could continue his career at another club in Europe or even in the United States. De Bruyne was previously linked with MLS expansion side San Diego FC, but now, it looks like the midfielder could be headed to Miami.

Why Inter Miami Now Lead the Kevin De Bruyne Transfer Race

A move to join Messi, Jordi Alaba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez at Inter Miami no longer looks farfetched for De Bruyne. In fact, the club holds De Bruyne’s MLS discovery rights, which gives Inter Miami the first right to negotiate with the midfielder, per The Athletic.

Although there have yet to be reports of actual contract talks with De Bruyne and Inter Miami, the Herons are now first in line to potentially ink a deal with the Manchester City icon.

MLS discovery rights give a team (in this case, Inter Miami) the power to list five players they have the right to negotiate with before other teams can get involved. The process discourages MLS sides from bidding against one another to inflate the price of a signing.

Since the Herons hold De Bruyne’s MLS discovery rights, no other team in MLS can negotiate with the six-time Premier League winner so long as he remains on Inter Miami's list.

How Kevin De Bruyne Could Join Inter Miami This Summer

Since Messi, Alaba and Busquets already hold Inter Miami's three designated player (DPs) spots, De Bruyne would have to sign within the restraints of the Herons' targeted allocation money (TAM). The salary cap would greatly lower what De Bruyne would get paid compared to if he signed as a DP.

Still, De Bruyne could take a page out of Zlatan Ibrahimović's book. When the Swedish star joined LA Galaxy in 2018, he had to sign a TAM-level deal for $3 million since the Western Conference side already had three DPs.

After the season ended, Ibrahimović signed a new deal for $7.2 million as a DP. De Bruyne could embark on a similar path, but he would need a DP spot to open up following the end of the 2025 season. One of Messi, Alba or Busquets would therefore have to either agree to a non-DP deal or leave the club.

De Bruyne has other options across MLS, Europe and even Saudi Arabia, though, that gives the 33-year-old plenty of options when deciding his future destination.