Rodrigo De Paul on MLS Cup doorstep with Inter Miami  | OneFootball

By Jon Arnold

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – You can’t question Rodrigo De Paul’s commitment to Inter Miami CF.

The Argentine FIFA World Cup winner arrived in South Florida in late July, signing with the Herons on loan from LaLiga powerhouse Atlético Madrid. He had yet to participate in a full training session with the club, yet still debuted in a Leagues Cup match against LIGA MX side Atlas.

That's why De Paul is here: To contribute, to do whatever is necessary to help the team lift trophies. And that's what De Paul hopes to do when his team hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday in MLS Cup 2025 presented by Audi (2:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV; FOX, FOX Deportes; TSN, RDS).

“When I came here, I also came to achieve important things, to look for this title that the club had been trying to get for several years,” he told MLS Español.

“We have a tough game against a good opponent, but it’s always better to do it at home. We have a lot of hope that we can do it.”

New factor

De Paul’s presence fills Inter Miami fans with hope. This year's previous matchups saw Vancouver eliminate Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals, advancing 5-1 on aggregate.

But those came without the all-action midfielder, who's since formed a strong partnership with FC Barcelona and Spain legend Sergio Busquets.

“I think obviously they were much better than us in April, but the situation is not the same,” Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano said Thursday. “We are in a different situation. We arrive in the final with confidence, with some different players.”

Another reason De Paul hopes history doesn’t factor into MLS Cup is Lionel Messi’s negative record against Thomas Müller. Few players boast much success against Messi, but the Whitecaps’ summer signing has won seven of 10 matches against the iconic forward, whether it was with Bayern Munich against Barça or Paris Saint-Germain or with Germany against Argentina.

While De Paul said the topic hasn't come up in the locker room, he’ll keep a close eye on Müller.

“In a final, you always see opponents where you had to suffer, you lost to, or sometimes enjoyed victories. But I think this was a long time ago, and this is a totally different game, a final,” De Paul said.

“He’s a great player who won a ton of things, who knows how to play in these games, and obviously we have to be alert there because he’s the most important player they have.”

De Paul’s protection of Miami’s most important player has drawn attention for both club and country, at times being nicknamed "Messi's bodyguard." A new incident emerged last weekend in the Herons' Eastern Conference Final win over New York City FC. But the 31-year-old laughed off the idea that he's doing anything special or different, saying "I always am going to defend my teammate, my team, my work, which is to go out and win every weekend.”

World Cup dreams

That's what Inter Miami signed him to do, and if all goes to plan this weekend, they'll close out 2025 with the trophy they've sought since starting their 2020 MLS expansion season. And with the FIFA World Cup draw set for the day before the MLS Cup final, thoughts later this month will turn to 2026.

It’s an exciting year for De Paul and Messi. In addition to opening Inter Miami’s new stadium near the Miami airport in the spring, Argentina also will attempt to mount a defense of the 2022 World Cup title they won in Qatar, this time playing in North America when the World Cup is hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Plenty of experts are putting the favorite tag right back on Argentina because of their experience and past success. While De Paul said La Albiceleste know how hard it will be, lifting the trophy is again the goal.

“We understand the expectations there are because of the World Cup qualifiers we played, the team with new names with the base that became world champions,” De Paul said.

“We’re going to defend the title. We know how difficult it is, but we also understand we’re going to leave everything we have out there to be able to achieve it once more. Hopefully, we can all be united and everything goes in the same way as in 2022.”

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