Inter Miami have missed out on qualifying for the MLS playoffs. As Lionel Messi nursed a mystery injury, the Herons lost form and fell out of the race to make it into the postseason. Once Miami have played their final game of the campaign on October 21, the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba won't play another competitive club match until the end of February.
Unsurprisingly, then, the transfer rumours have begun as Miami plot their next assault on the market in a bid to spark a true title challenge in 2024. While there will undoubtedly be a couple of new domestic arrivals, most notably via the MLS' SuperDraft, all eyes will be on which global superstars can be tempted to join Messi in south Florida.
Luis Suarez continues to be linked with a reunion with his three former Barcelona team-mates after the Uruguayan striker was denied the opportunity to leave by current club Gremio in the summer. His contract is up at the end of the year, however, and so that move certainly feels likely to happen.
But perhaps the most intriguing name to have popped up in the gossip columns is that of Luka Modric, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to South Beach having fallen out of favour at Real Madrid, with Miami owner David Beckham reportedly driving the club's interest.
What follows is not a Modric footballing obituary. Nor is it an assertion that the midfielder, now 38 years old, cannot offer anything on a football pitch. Nor is it an advisory piece for either Florentino Perez or Beckham. Rather, it's a look at a strange reality: The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner, arguably the finest midfielder of his generation, can't really get a look in for his club anymore.
Modric has been little more than a steady back-up for Carlo Ancelotti's side so far this season, though there is an argument to be made that his role could grow in importance as the months go on. But Modric is a special case, a midfielder who seems to deserve a bigger role, wherever that may be.
And with the option to play regularly once more surely imminent, albeit at an MLS club it could be time for him to say goodbye to Santiago Bernabeu — perhaps sooner than he expected.