Inter Miami completed its summer facelift by adding Argentine prodigy Facundo Farias, a 20-year-old offensιve midfielder, in addition to its three headline stars Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. According to numerous team sources, Miami and Argentine club Colon de Santa Fe agreed to a $5 million transfer deal for Farias, with an additional $2 million based on incentives. If the player is sold, Colon will receive 20% of any future transfer fees. Farias is waiting for his visa and plans to travel to South Florida in the coming days.
He will join the squad as part of the Major League Soccer U-22 scheme, which lets teams sign up to three players aged 22 and under to lucrative contracts at a reduced cost. This reduces the rιsk of acquiring talented but still unproven players. They can keep that designation until they reach the age of 25. Players under the age of 20 have their salary budget charge capped at $150,000 regardless of their actual wage. Players aged 21 to 25 have a budget charge of $200,000, the same as Young Designated Players like Inter Miami attacker Leo Campana. Farias will be 21 on August 28. He rose through the ranks of Colon’s youth program and was promoted to the first team in 2019.
In 95 games, he has 16 goals and nine assists. He was one of the most highly regarded young Argentine players at the halfway point of last season, but he missed 24 games from September 2022 to May 2023 due to a damagҽd knee ligament. Last week, Miami used its first U-22 initiative slot to recruit Paraguay midfielder Diego Gomez. The third spot could go to Argentina’s Racing Club center-back Tomas Aviles, who turns 19 on August 3 and is in talks with Inter Miami. Aviles was born in Argentina but has Chilean dual citizenship through his mother’s family. He formerly represented Chile but moved to Argentina for the recent U-20 World Cup.
After Ian Fray’s season-ending knee ιnjury, Miami needs another center back. Alba was completing his visa paperwork and anticipated joining the club early next week. Inter Miami won both of its League Cup group stage games, with Messi and Robert Taylor each scoring three goals. The tournament’s knockout stage begins on Wednesday with the Round of 32. Miami plays at home against the winner of Saturday’s match between Orlando City and Santos. Tickets start at $142 and are available through TicketMaster.
