Why $15 Million For Berterame Only Makes Sense For Inter Miami

Germán Berterame of CF Monterrey celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the play-in match against Pachuca as part of the Torneo Clausura 2025 Liga MX at BBVA Stadium on April 27 in Monterrey, Mexico.

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Over the weekend, reports from The Athletic and ESPN revealed that Inter Miami was nearing a deal to sign Monterrey center forward Germán Berterame.

Miami seems willing to pay the Argentine-Mexican striker’s $15 million release clause to make the deal happen before the Herons’ season begins in February. If completed, it would continue a whirlwind offseason in which the defending champions have already signed fullback Sergio Reguilón and goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, and secured permanent moves for Rodrigo de Paul and Tadeo Allende, who played last year in Miami on loan.

What stands out about the potential Berterame move, however, is that unlike most of the other deals the Herons have made, Miami probably won’t be using the influence of star captain and two-time MLS MVP Lionel Messi to work a team-friendly deal.

Above Market Value?

The $15 million buyout close is several million dollars north of what some believe is the the Rayados target man’s market value. The 27-year-old is in his seventh year in the Liga MX split-season setup, and between the recently concluded 2025 Apertura and ongoing 2026 Clausura, he has 11 league goals and is averaging a career-best 0.58 goals per 90 minutes. That’s good-but-not-great production for a true center forward. And if the reported proposed fee is accurate, he would become the seventh-most-expensive incoming transfer in league history.

We don’t know as much as the personal terms being discussed between Miami and Berterame. But we do know two previous near-moves to MLS fell apart because Berterame had a change of heart late in the game. So from a distance, he doesn’t profile as someone who would easily be talked into a paycut, and reports indicate his contract would require Miami’s final Designate Player spot.

Berterame’s Liga MX Goals (Goals per 90)

For any other club, this would represent a huge risk, because they’d likely be paying this kind of money expecting Berterame to be a transformational player. There’s a chance he’s capable of that – many strikers don’t truly find their top form until their later 20s – but it’s far from a certainty. If his production stayed similar in MLS to what it has been in Liga MX, he would be productive but not remarkable.

But Miami already boast Messi, Allende and Luis Suarez in their attack. And they likely value Berterame for a far different reason than most MLS sides might: His durable consistency and his experience in continental competitions.

The Worst-Case Is Still Good

Berterame had 0.30 league goals per 90 minutes or more in all seven of his years in Mexico and has averaged 0.45 across that stretch. In terms of consistency, that makes him a definitive upgrade from the likes of Leonardo Campana, the last regularly productive Herons center forward who wasn’t Luis Suarez. The position was so lacking down the stretch last season that Miami opted to go without a center forward and instead played Messi as a false nine in a 4-3-3. It worked in the compact lifespan of the MLS Cup Playoffs, but is a system with limitations.

And while it’s hard to project, a realistic worst-case production scenario for Berterame in the Herons’ Messi-led attack is probably around that career 0.45 goals-per-90 number. In other words, so long as he stays healthy, he’s more or less a guarantee to score double-digit league goals.

Berterame’s International Tournament Goals (Appearances)

Further, paying $15 million now enables Miami to presumably secure Berterame immediately as they take aim at the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup and try to become only the second MLS team to win the honor in the tournament’s modern era.

Perhaps the Herons could negotiate something closer to market value and get a deal done by the time the MLS primary transfer window closes in late April. But by then, the competition will have already progressed to the semifinals stage.

And Berterame has an exceptional record in international club competition since 2023. Between the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Leagues Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, he has 13 goals in 22 appearances.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianquillen/2026/01/20/why-15-million-for-berterame-only-makes-sense-for-inter-miami/