Rodrigo De Paul doubts Racing return: “I won't be trapped by my words” | OneFootball

The World Cup-winning midfielder from Qatar 2022 is under contract with Inter Miami until December 31, 2029.

Racing fans never stop dreaming about the return of Rodrigo De Paul and Lautaro Martínez, the club’s two great prodigal sons who came through the Tita Mattiussi training ground and went on to have outstanding careers abroad. While Motorcito already made his return a decade ago, the club’s leadership keeps urging him to come back for good.

It is not easy at all. The 31-year-old midfielder is settled in the United States, where he wears the Inter Miami shirt alongside Lionel Messi, and although journalist Tomás Dávila claimed he would return once La Pulga hangs up his boots, the former Atlético de Madrid player denied it himself.

“I’d love to return to Racing, but I’m not someone who is lukewarm. I have to understand my role, and one extra word can create confusion. I don’t want to be a prisoner of my own words,” he said first in a recent interview with journalist Joaquín Álvarez. After stating that Diego Milito and Sebastián Saja “call him often to come back,” he made his position very clear.

“I always put Racing above everything else. The day I wanted to return to play the Copa Libertadores at age 20 while I was at Valencia, I did it. I’d love to come back, but I don’t have a date and I don’t know if it will happen because I don’t predict the future,” he stressed.

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How much does De Paul earn at Inter Miami?

Returning to Racing would necessarily mean Rodrigo De Paul giving up money compared to what he is contractually guaranteed to earn until the end of his deal with Inter Miami in December 2029. According to reports, the Argentina national team midfielder is the third-highest-paid player in MLS, with an annual salary of more than $9.6 million.

De Paul and his love for Racing

“Racing will always have a very special place in my heart. I was at the club from the time I was eight years old, I spent 10 years there, and I went to school there. It was a long time, and they taught me so much. That first door that opens is important; it’s a key stage. It was a school, and I adore it. I stay up late watching the matches and try to follow the team closely,” the midfielder once said in an interview with Rumis.

He also did not rule out the possibility of returning in the future: “I still have a road ahead of me, but surely, the day I decide to change course, Racing will be an option for me and will have priority”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.