Lionel Messi's potential new team mate at Inter Miami 'not an easy person' to work with

Martin Macdonald

• 12 Dec 2025 06:15 CST
• 3 min read

Nieuws

Inter Miami are looking at reinforcements for next season and have previously identified RB Leipzig's Timo Werner as a target.

Werner remains RB Leipzig's top scorer of all time and returned to the club this past summer after an ill-fated loan spell at Tottenham.

Despite being a club legend and only 29-years-old, he has been frozen out of the first-team picture by head coach Ole Werner. In the 2025/26 campaign, he has been handed just one minute of playing time in the Bundesliga and the club wanted rid of him in the summer due to his high wages.

That has led to speculation that he could leave, with Inter Miami reportedly keen on a deal.

Recent reports suggested that Lionel Messi had personally requested that Inter Miami sign the forward, and the German outlet backs up that discussions with David Beckham's franchise have taken place.

Things have gone quiet on that front recently, but the link will remain until January.

Werner not easy to work with

Oliver Mintzlaff, the CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments at Red Bull, has provided an insight into what Werner is like as a person.

"I have a special, close, and good relationship with Timo Werner. Therefore, I'm probably not entirely objective," Mintzlaff told Leipziger Volkszeitung.

"I would have thought there might have been a way to give him a few minutes, especially since he had a decent preseason. But that's the coach's decision, that's what performance decides.

"Timo Werner is certainly not an easy person, undoubtedly not an easy character, but an extremely fine guy to whom we owe a great deal. Every coach has had his problems with Timo Werner, whether Ralf Rangnick or Julian Nagelsmann, but they've all played him."

The Germany international reportedly turned down a move to New York Red Bulls in the summer due to the salary on offer.

This week, Inter Miami will complete the permanent signing of Rodrigo De Paul from Atletico Madrid which means a designated player spot will be taken in the squad, which could impact Werner's arrivals if other targets are deemed more suitable.

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store