Inter Miami hit the road on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s game against the New England Revolution, determined to make up ground in the MLS standings and build upon its 4-1 win in Montreal over the weekend.

Meanwhile, negotiations heated up between Miami owners and Atletico Madrid for the transfer of midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, one of Lionel Messi’s closest friends on Argentina’s national team, according to a Miami team source.

The 31-year-old, who is nicknamed “El Motorcito” (Little Motor) for his boundless energy and work rate, would like to play alongside Messi in the buildup to the 2026 World Cup and gave Atletico Madrid permission to negotiate an exit plan.

Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas was in Madrid over the weekend trying to work out a deal to get De Paul to Miami during the summer transfer window. Atletico is reluctant to let him go and is reportedly asking for a $17 million transfer fee. De Paul’s current contract runs through 2026. Other clubs are also interested, but Miami is said to be his likeliest destination.

Asked Tuesday morning about the possibility of De Paul joining Inter Miami, coach Javier Mascherano said: “You have much more information than me, so I don’t have much to say. Clearly, everyone knows that type of player, but like I always say, ‘I don’t like to speak about players who, at the moment, are not on our roster.’ It would be a lack of respect toward the players we have who are working with us day to day. Tomorrow, or in the future, if he or any other player comes, then I will offer a more in-depth opinion.”

Inter Miami midfielder Baltasar Rodriguez, who is from Argentina, said of De Paul: “I saw the rumors. If would be nice if he came and played with Messi and the rest of us.”

De Paul has been a mainstay for Atletico for the past five years, and before that played in Italy for Udinese. He is a box-to-box midfielder who played a crucial role for Argentina in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America.

Messi has the same type of on-field telepathy with De Paul as he does with Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. De Paul always knows where Messi is, provides delivery to the Argentine icon and takes on the role of enforcer/bodyguard when the two are on the field together.

Suarez, 38, and Busquets, who turns 37 this month, have not renewed their contracts, which expire at the end of this season. Busquets will make $8.8 million this season, second-highest salary on the team behind Messi ($20.5 million), and Suarez makes $1.5 million.

The addition of De Paul would ensure Messi has a world-class midfield partner and a close friend on the team.

For now, the team is focused on climbing the MLS standings with five games during the next 18 days. Inter Miami is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 10 points behind first-place Cincinnati, but Miami has played four fewer games than the five teams ahead of them due to the Club World Cup, so there is plenty of time to catch up.

After the game against New England, Miami plays at home Saturday against second-place Nashville, then plays on the road at Cincinnati, on the road at New York Red Bulls and at home against Cincinnati.

Asked if Messi and other regular starters might sit out or play limited minutes against New England, which sits in 11th place in the East, Mascherano was noncommittal.

“Obviously we’re not just thinking about [Wednesday’s] game, but also about the string of games we have coming up,” he said before training Tuesday morning. “We have three more games in practically 10 days, so we’ll see how best to manage each player’s minutes.

“I always say the same thing; we’re going to put out the best possible 11. But clearly, my idea isn’t to make a lot of rotations, because I think that doing so disrupts the team too much. In the end, many of the guys, even if you don’t change too much within a team, aren’t used to playing together, so it’s like throwing a problem at the players. So, there will be a few changes to freshen things up, but we’ll try to keep the core of the team the same.”

Asked specifically about Messi’s status for the game, Mascherano replied:

“In Leo’s case, if Leo is fine and doesn’t have any problems, obviously my idea is always to let him play, because we know that if there’s anyone who knows how to manage himself on the pitch and knows his body, it’s him.

“So, we’ll see, we’ll take it as it comes. I don’t want to say one thing and then do another. It’s more a day-to-day thing, depending on how everyone feels.”

Injury report

Midfielders Yannick Bright and David Ruiz are recovered from hamstring injuries and practiced Tuesday. It is unknown if they will be on the game roster Wednesday. Defenders Ian Fray and Noah Allen remain out after being injured during the Club World Cup. Goalkeeper Drake Callender, who has missed almost all season and is coming off sports hernia surgery, trained with the team Tuesday. His return date is unknown.

How to watch

Inter Miami vs. New England Revolution kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Apple TV MLS Season Pass.

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