David Beckham and Inter Miami investigated for breaking MLS rule named after him

Inter Miami are under investigation for potentially breaching Major League Soccer's Designated Player Rule with their signing of Blaise Matuidi last year.

Matuidi – who won the 2018 World Cup with France – joined Inter Miami in August after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with Juventus.

The midfielder made 15 appearances in the 2020 season for the Florida club, which is co-owned by David Beckham.

Teams in the MLS are allowed to have up to three Designated Players, who are permitted to receive wages which are not considered in the team's overall salary cap, which was set at $4.9million (£3.6m) for the first-team squad ahead of the 2020 season.

The Designated Player Rule is colloquially known as the Beckham Rule, as it was introduced ahead of his much-anticipated arrival at LA Galaxy in 2007.

But Beckham now faces a probe over a potential breach of the rule informally named after him.

A statement reads: "Major League Soccer has begun a formal review of Inter Miami CF’s signing of midfielder Blaise Matuidi, specifically investigating whether the signing of the player complied with Major League Soccer’s salary budget and roster guidelines.

"MLS will not make further comment until the completion of its investigation."

Get the latest news straight into your inbox!

It has been a hectic season so far – so make sure you don't miss a single thing by signing up for the brilliant new Mirror Football newsletter!

All the latest transfer news and big stories will land straight into your inbox. You won't miss out.

To sign up, put your email at the top of this article or follow the instructions on this link.

Inter Miami's three Designated Players are Rodolfo Pizarro, Matias Pellegrini and Gonzalo Higauin – who played alongside Matuidi at Juventus.

The club endured a poor debut MLS season, finishing 10th of 14 teams in the Eastern Conference having averaged just over one point per game.

Beckham is targeting improvement in the 2021 season and has appointed his former Manchester United teammate and ex-England Women boss Phil Neville as the club's new head coach.

Former England defender Ryan Shawcross also joined earlier this year after his contract with Stoke was terminated.

Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip.

Source: Read Full Article