David Beckham, Phil Neville and Inter Miami's MLS nightmare amid 'cheating' saga

"If you're going to cheat, cheat well" declared ex-USA midfielder Stuart Holden.

Inter Miami failed to do that during their debut MLS season in 2020, and things have only got worse under new boss Phil Neville in 2021.

David Beckham exercised his option to purchase an expansion team in 2014 - handed to him when he joined LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007 - with a view to forming a new MLS franchise in Miami.

Four years later, the MLS officially awarded an expansion team in Miami to Beckham's ownership group.

Inter Miami entered the league last year alongside Nashville SC.

But while the relative minnows from music city impressed in their debut campaign, Inter Miami failed to make the splash expected.

Despite the big name signings of Blaise Matuidi and Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus, the club endured a disappointing first season under Diego Alonso, finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference.

They subsequently crashed out of the post season before the actual play-offs, losing in the play-in round to Nashville.

Alonso was dismissed and replaced as head coach by Beckham's 'Class of '92' teammate Phil Neville, who left his role as England Women's boss to take the job - despite having claimed that his role in the women's game wasn't designed to give him a leg up into the men's ranks.

Money was again spent as Miami strengthened the squad, bringing in veteran defender Ryan Shawcross from Stoke and agreeing a deal to sign ex-Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs from West Bromwich Albion.

But things haven't gone smoothly once again, making a mediocre start to the 2021 campaign and finding themselves surrounded by controversy.

So, what's going on at Inter Miami? Mirror Football takes a look...

'Cheating' claims and $2m fine

It was announced back in March that the MLS had launched an investigation into whether the club had broken the rules when they signed Matuidi.

A statement at the time read: "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."

Two months on from that announcement, the resulting investigation found that Miami had violated roster designation rules and they were fined a record $2m.

Under MLS rules, the wages of designated players do not count towards the salary cap and the investigation found that Matuidi, who was given an international roster slot, was being paid more than was allowed and he should have been classified as a designated player.

It was also found that the team had wrongly categorised former defender Andres Reyes and also under-reported the salaries of Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Nicolas Figal and Julian Carranza.

Miami's managing owner Jorge Mas was also fined $250,000, while Paul McDonough, who was their chief operating officer and sporting director at the time of the violations, has been suspended by the MLS until the end of the 2022 campaign.

None of the players or the owners were found guilty of any wrongdoing.

What has been said about the controversy?

Following the decision, MLS commissioner Don Garber said: "The integrity of our rules is sacrosanct, and it is a fundamental principle of our league that our clubs are responsible for adhering to all league regulations. Our rules will not be compromised.

"These sanctions reflect the severity of Inter Miami's violations, should encourage complete cooperation by all parties in future investigations and will serve as a deterrent for clubs from violating roster rules."

A statement from Mas read: "Inter Miami CF acknowledges that the Club violated Major League Soccer's roster rules in our first season.

"We have worked closely with MLS to address these issues and have made significant changes in our management structure.

"Following our inaugural season, we took a deep look at our soccer operations leadership group and made decisions that not only strengthened our internal roster compliance measures, but also better positioned us to build a sustainable, long-term competition strategy with the hiring of Chris Henderson as chief soccer officer and sporting director in 2021.

"Inter Miami is an ambitious Club with big aspirations. We believe our fanbase, market and ownership group propel us to be one of North America's most-followed futbol teams in the world. We are committed to supporting our team and building a roster we are proud of."

Will Phil Neville be a success at Inter Miami? Let us know in the comments section below

Neville, meanwhile, has said: "We told the players yesterday, they were aware of the punishment the night before.

"We said to the players this is not something that should affect you on the pitch because the players haven't been affected by it.

"The club has and we take responsibility as a club and we got to make sure that we do that, but ultimately the performance, the result and what happens on the pitch and what happens is my job is to coach the team.

"The players' job is to go out there and perform on the field, whatever happens away from that is not a distraction for us."

In a segment on FOX, former Bolton midfielder Holden blasted Miami as "embarrassing", saying: "If you're going to cheat, cheat well Miami.

"It's embarrassing when you think about what happened with them last season. I think about when Miami was announced, it was years and years of courting that David Beckham's team was going to make a big splash, Miami was going to spend money.

"I think what came with that was a sense of entitlement and, quite frankly, some arrogance that Miami was somehow above the rules.

"I'm happy that Major League Soccer came down heavy here. I think they needed to because they have to maintain the integrity of this league. I want teams to spend money, but spend within the rules."

Misery on the pitch

On the field, things have not been going any better under Neville, with Miami currently 11th in the Eastern Conference and managing just two wins from their first eight games.

In their most recent fixture against D.C. United, they were beaten 3-0 at home in front of almost 16,000 fans thanks to a brace from Ola Kamara and a first-half strike from Paul Arriola.

Miami are yet to win at home this season and, speaking after the defeat to D.C. United, Neville said: "We aren't dominating games at home, while also giving teams a feeling they can score against us.

"The team were focused to go out and put on a performance for the fans in a packed out stadium but we didn't do it. That's the biggest disappointment.

"Now is not the time to be pointing fingers, we have to be better as a collective unit. One of my non-negotiables is that the buck always stops with me but we have to be together.

"There are four or five players that need four days off. That is imperative. It has been an intense period with a lot happening so there needs to be some clearing of minds for a few days.

"We have to come back and make sure we are better, harder to beat and eradicate the mistakes which are costing us goals."

Of their big name signings, Higuain is currently the club's top scorer with four strikes, half of their total goals this season.

Shawcross, meanwhile, has failed to shore up the defence, with Miami managing to keep just one clean sheet so far.

Matuidi has also come in for criticism, being named as a player who needed to have a 'much improved 2021' campaign in an article on the MLS' official website which described his performances last season as "almost lifeless".

All told, it is far from what Beckham envisaged when taking football back to Miami.

And for Neville, with no knowledge of life and the nuances involved in the US league, it's a move which could have disastrous long-term career consequences, unless he can turn it around.