Inter Miami have secured an extra international roster slot, the MLS franchise has announced.

The South-Florida based club purchased the slot from Western Conference side San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for $150,000 in 2023 General Allocation Money (GAM).

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The move will allow Miami to add a non-U.S. national player before the MLS transfer window closes on Aug. 2.

A total of 233 international roster slots are divided among the 29 MLS clubs and are tradable. Therefore, clubs may have more or less than eight players during any given season.

Miami signed Jordi Alba last week and the Spain left-back will join former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets, who arrived at the club earlier this month.

ESPN reported earlier this month that Miami have expressed an interest in signing Luis Suarez to fill the last international roster slot at Miami.

The Uruguay forward is under contract with Gremio until December 2024.

The acquisition of an international roster spot is one step in the process of Miami possibly signing Suarez.

An international roster spot is needed for Suarez as he wouldn't count as a domestic player, because he is not a U.S. citizen, nor does he have permanent U.S. residence.

Whether Suarez requires a Designated Player spot (DP) is still to be determined. Miami is at the maximum number of three DPs with Messi, Busquets and Leo Campana.

If Suarez signs a DP contract, Campana would either have to be transferred abroad, traded within MLS or have his salary budget hit reduced to a level by which he would no longer qualify as a DP.

Suarez could also be signed with the help of allocation money so that he wouldn't count as a DP. That would require Suarez having an annual salary of less than $1.65m, while Miami would have to have enough allocation money to buy down his salary budget hit to less than $651,250.

Suarez is keen to leave Gremio and is willing to compensate the Brazilian club with a fee of around $10m to be released from his contract this month.

Gremio, meanwhile, want Suarez to see out his contract.

Since joining the Brazilian club in January as a free agent, Suarez has scored 16 goals and set up nine more in 31 games.

"On the 2nd [of August when the transfer window closes in Brazil], this soap opera will come to an end," Gremio coach Renato Gaucho said after Saturday's 1-0 league win against Atletico Mineiro.

Suarez, 36, watched Saturday's game from the stands. The former Liverpool star has struggled with a right knee problem since May.

Information from ESPN's Jeff Carlisle also contributed to this report.