David Beckham's Inter Miami may have to pay £750,000 to secure Casemiro, despite the Brazilian leaving Manchester United as a free agent. Earlier this year, the midfielder announced he would leave Old Trafford upon the expiry of his contract at age 34.
While Casemiro has been linked with several clubs for the twilight of his career, it appears almost certain he will join Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in Florida. However, Inter Miami could face a substantial fee due to a 'discovery rights' conflict with LA Galaxy, who registered an official interest before their Floridian rivals.
Discovery Rights Dispute
According to reports, Casemiro is stuck in theoretical limbo until the dispute is resolved, with LA Galaxy demanding £750,000 in compensation. GOAL reports that the midfielder and his representatives previously held talks with LA Galaxy, who made contractual offers to secure his services in California. After visiting family in Miami, however, Casemiro is said to have changed his mind, choosing Inter Miami as his destination.
Discovery rights conflicts are not uncommon in Major League Soccer. For example, Marco Reus had rights held by Charlotte FC before moving from Borussia Dortmund to LA Galaxy. Charlotte initially demanded £602,000 in compensation but eventually settled for half that amount in General Allocation Money.
How the MLS Discovery Process Works
The MLS has a detailed explanation of the discovery process on its official website. It states: "Pursuant to the discovery process, clubs may scout and sign players who are not yet under contract to MLS and who are not subject to another assignment mechanism (e.g., MLS SuperDraft)."
"To sign a player through the discovery process, the club must first place the player on its discovery list. A club may have up to five players on its discovery list at any time and may remove or add players at any time."
"If one or more clubs attempt to add the same player to their respective discovery lists, the club that filed the claim on the earlier date will have the priority right to sign the player. If one or more clubs submit a discovery request on the same day, then the club with the lowest points-per-game in the current MLS regular season (all clubs must have played a minimum of three regular season games) will have the priority right to sign the player."
"If a club wants to sign a player on the discovery list of another club that has higher discovery priority on the player, it may offer that club $50,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for the right to sign the player. The club with the player on its discovery list will then have five days (or three days during the Secondary Transfer Window) to either (i) accept the General Allocation Money and pass on the right to sign the player or (ii) make the player a genuine, objectively reasonable offer."
Manchester United's Midfield Search
Casemiro's exit leaves Manchester United in need of a new midfielder, but they may face an uphill battle. The club is interested in Sandro Tonali, Elliot Anderson, and Matheus Fernandes, but faces competition from Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur. With high demand and clubs reluctant to sell players on long-term contracts, asking prices could be driven up this summer.
