Rodrigo De Paul spoke at a press conference about joining Inter Miami, the Argentina national team and playing with Lionel Messi.
De Paul signed with Inter Miami from Atletico Madrid and took part in their 2-1 win against Atlas. The Argentine spoke at a press conference about speaking with Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni. Here is what he had to say:
“I spoke to him and I was very clear about what he needed from me in order to continue being part of the Argentina National Team project, which has given us so much joy.
“He was very simple with me, understanding that we have lived together for many years and he told me: ‘I know what you can give on the field, I know who you are, the only thing I am going to evaluate is what you do on the field’.Those words were what I needed to make the decision.”
He was also askee about playing in the MLS at 31 years of age:
“I’m not sure what the future holds, but I did have offers to stay in Europe. Coming to MLS was a personal and bold decision. I’ve always wanted to experience this league and lifestyle. With Leo’s arrival, the league’s visibility has grown massively. Inter is making history—and I want to be part of that.
“Honestly, I’m very happy — and so is my family. Living in Miami always felt like a dream, and now we’re living it. The transition was smooth, the city is beautiful, and I feel refreshed and hungry to make history with Inter.”
About playing with Lionel Messi:
“With Leo we always had the dream, the desire to play together in a club, to share every day. Every time we met with the National Team, the day-to-day was incredible.”
“I wanted to feel that feeling of playing every day with the best of them all. It was a dream we were always going around chatting about.
“The situation came about, it wasn’t sought after. I had a contract with Atlético Madrid, but the dream was there.”
On playing 90 minutes vs. Atlas:
“Masche asked me how long I could go, and I told him, ‘As long as you need.’ [laughs] I ended up playing the full 90! That’s just how I am—I train hard in the off-season, so the gap without games doesn’t affect me much.”
