David Beckham must sell players as Lionel Messi splurge leads to MLS rules risk
David Beckham and Inter Miami's Major League Soccer rivals believe the club is "screwed" ahead of the new season after splashing huge sums of cash on Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and several other superstar players.
Co-owner Beckham and his partners invested heavily in the squad last year, headlined by the addition of Messi, which was subsidised by support from advertisers Apple and Pepsi, in July. He was followed by former Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
Former Liverpool superstar Suarez signed from Brazilian club Gremio on a big-money free-agent deal in December. The club is also working on a deal to sign Argentina youth international Federico Redondo. The Argentinos Juniors midfielder is expected to join for a fee in the region of $8million (£6.4m) before the start of the season.
The overhaul of the squad leaves Gerardo "Tata" Martino's team as the early favourites for the MLS title, but all is not well behind the scenes with the club desperately needing to trim its squad to balance the books.
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MLS operates a strict salary cap outside of its designated players – huge earners like Messi – and The Athletic reports a fire sale is on the cards before the season begins on February 21.
Before the campaign opener against Real Salt Lake, a number of players are expected to depart, with Gregore, Jean Mota, DeAndre Yedlin, Robert Taylor and Sergii Kryvstov among the men made available for transfer. Coco Jean is also expected to leave, either in a transfer or trade, or by terminating his contract.
Beckham has many problems to solve before the new season (Stephen Law/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)"They are screwed, trust me," an anonymous executive from another MLS club said. Inter Miami's MLS rivals are fully aware of the club's plight and are sure to drive hard bargains when negotiating deals, likely inhibiting the South Florida club's ability to recoup the cash necessary to comply with league spending restrictions.
Brazilian midfielders Gregore and Mota are among the most valuable assets Inter Miami can shift in the coming days. Both men are proven talents with significant experience in MLS and in their homeland. And with the Brazilian transfer window still open, there is likely to be a market for their services.
But the situation continues an uncomfortable few weeks for Inter Miami following a chastening pre-season for Messi and his teammates. A defeat to MLS rivals FC Dallas was followed by 4-3 and 6-0 defeats in Saudi Arabia to Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr respectively.
Messi was also responsible for significant scrutiny placed on the club when he pulled out of a friendly against a Hong Kong XI earlier this month. Miami won the game 4-1, but Messi's absence due to a groin injury angered fans who had forked out on expensive tickets to see the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner in the flesh.
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