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MLS investigates Beckham’s Inter Miami over alleged Casemiro tampering

Callum Reid3 min read
MLS investigates Beckham’s Inter Miami over alleged Casemiro tampering

Major League Soccer has opened an investigation into David Beckham’s Inter Miami over allegations of tampering in the club’s move for Casemiro, hours after the Brazil midfielder’s arrival was confirmed. The league says it is examining how Inter Miami came to acquire the discovery rights to the former Manchester United player, who left Old Trafford as a free agent this summer.

Casemiro, 34, has put pen to paper on a deal running to the end of the 2027 MLS season, with the option of an extension through to June 2029. The move reunites him with Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul at a Miami side co-owned by Beckham, who hailed the World Cup last-16 midfielder as “a winner who has achieved so much in the game” following “such an incredible career”.

Discovery rights at the heart of the row

The dispute centres on MLS’s discovery system, which allows a club to hold up to five players on a priority list and gives it exclusive first rights to negotiate with them. LA Galaxy, the club Beckham himself represented as a player, had held that priority over Casemiro before Inter Miami said they had taken over the rights.

MLS confirmed it is “reviewing a tampering allegation” against Inter Miami and said it would “refrain from further comment until the review is complete”. Crucially, while the league confirmed that Inter Miami and LA Galaxy have already reached a settlement over the discovery priority itself, the terms of that agreement will not be made public until the tampering probe concludes. LA Galaxy issued a near-identical statement confirming the settlement and the ongoing review.

Casemiro’s United exit

Casemiro announced in January that he would leave Manchester United at the end of last season after the two parties mutually agreed not to renew his contract, bringing an end to a spell that produced 160 appearances, 26 goals and 14 assists, along with an EFL Cup and an FA Cup. He had arrived at Old Trafford from Real Madrid in 2022 as a five-time Champions League winner, and this summer started every game as Brazil reached the last 16 of the World Cup.

His departure prompted United to move quickly in midfield, bringing in Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £50 million and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35 million as manager Michael Carrick looks to reshape the middle of the park.

What happens next

MLS has not indicated a timeframe for concluding its review, and neither Inter Miami nor LA Galaxy have commented further beyond their joint acknowledgement of a settlement. Until the investigation is resolved, the precise terms of how Casemiro’s discovery rights changed hands — and whether any sporting sanctions could follow — remain undisclosed.

Read more: West Ham agree £68m Al-Hilal deal for Crysencio Summerville, ending Man Utd hopes

Sources

  • dailymail.com
  • BBC Sport
  • The Mirror

This is an independent report written from the facts across the sources named above.

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