Inter Miami confirm Josef Martinez release amid Luis Suarez links
- Suarez has already announced December exit from Gremio
- Inter Miami interested in reuniting 36-year-old with Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets
- Uruguay striker pointed to chronic knee pain as reason for early Gremio exit
Inter Miami have confirmed that Josef Martinez, Victor Ulloa and Jake LaCava will not be returning to the franchise in 2024.
30-year-old Martinez has only spent one season with the Herons after five hugely successful years with 2018 MLS Cup winners Atlanta United, scoring 12 goals in all competitions.
That figure marked a significant drop in output from his early Atlanta days, when Martinez scored 68 goals in back-to-back seasons to earn links with some of Europe's biggest clubs.
Miami confirmed in a club statement on Wednesday that Martinez will be one of three players departing now that the 2023 MLS regular season is over, and the announcement has only heightened speculation that the club might conclude a move for Luis Suarez.
90min revealed in June that Miami were primed to reunite Suarez with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, but current club Gremio opted against sanctioning a transfer.
Suarez is contracted to Gremio until December, with his contract at the Brazilian side mutually ending 12 months earlier than was initially planned.
"I feel that next year I will not be able to perform due to my fitness and the high demands of the Brazilian championship, which is why the club and I have spoken about ending my contract [with Gremio] a year early," Suarez said of the decision to prematurely end his contract.
"That would be in December. The club agreed and I’m grateful to them. I don’t know if I’ll continue to play somewhere else because I have a chronic issue with my knee that you all know about. I’d ask Gremio supporters to value the fact that they have a 37-year-old player who always plays despite having a lot of pain in his knee. That’s all I ask."
Miami may now revive their interest in Suarez with Martinez heading out of the door, as the club continue to strengthen their playing squad in a bid to be more competitive in MLS. The Herons lifted their maiden piece of silverware in 2023, with Messi leading the charge after his sensational arrival from PSG in July.
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