Good news for Messi as Inter Miami have reportedly won the tug-of-war against the South American giants for the Argentine player

Amid intensive negotiations to shape the 2026 roster, InterMiami reportedly prevailed over a South American powerhouse and secured the signing of another Argentinian player Lionel Messi.

Racing club defender Facundo Mura had been on Inter Miami’s radar for weeks, but the negotiations then seemed to hit an unexpected obstacle Argentina’s River Plate showed interest in signing him. However, the situation seems to have ended positively for the MLS side.

“Facundo Mura thanked River for their interest, but will play for Inter Miami“said transfer expert Cesar Luis Merlo in a post on his website on Tuesday X account. “The defender signs a contract until June 2029.”

For Javier MascheranoMura is an important addition to the Mura team. Despite being only 26 years old, he is an experienced player, with almost 200 professional appearances in the Argentine league with Students, ColonAnd Racing club. In the 2025 season he played 34 matches, scoring 4 goals and providing one assist.

In addition, the conditions for signing are extremely favorable InterMiamias Mura’s contract with Racing Club expires on December 31. This will allow him to join the MLS as a free agent, saving Inter Miami the hassle and expense of negotiating with another club.

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Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami makes big moves for the Argentine two-time Copa America winner ahead of January 2026

Inter Miami’s defense is starting to take shape

Among the players leaving after Inter Miami’s win in the MLS, Jordy Alba stood out, although he was not the only one. In addition to the Spanish star, who announced his retirement, Marcelo Wegand also left and returned to Boca juniors after his loan expired.

To replace Alba, Inter Miami acted quickly and secured the signing of a new European star. Sergio Reguilon. At right back, she extended Ian Fray’s contractand with the reported addition of Mura, that part of the field now appears well covered.

The question remains whether Inter Miami will pursue a top-level center back to boost internal competition. Maximilian Valk was the star in that position, but his colleagues…Gonzalo Lujan, Noah Allen, And Tomas Aviles– did not perform at the same convincing level.

Another player with international experience

Since the arrival of Lionel Messi, Inter Miami has signed many Spanish-speaking players with international experience to support the forward. Facundo Mura fits this profile as he is also an Argentinian with international youth credentials.

Although Mura did not play for the senior national team, he did represent Argentina at youth level. He was part of the team FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019 next to stars like Julian Alvarezwhich ended in the round of 16. In 2020 he won the Pre-Olympic tournament with Argentina U-23, qualifying for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Gamesalthough he was not called up to the Olympic team.