Casemiro looks likely to join Inter Miami as a free agent next month, but the MLS outfit could still und up paying a pretty penny for the midfield maestro
Casemiro looks on
Casemiro looks set to join Inter Miami(Image: Getty Images)
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David Beckham's Inter Miami may have to cough up £750,000 to secure Casemiro, despite the Brazilian leaving Manchester United as a free agent. Earlier this year, the midfielder announced that he would leave Old Trafford on the expiry of his contract at 34.
While Casemiro has been linked with a number of respective clubs to enjoy the twilight years of his career with, it appears all but confirmed that he will link up with the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in Florida.
Likely to command a mammoth wage due to his calibre, Inter Miami could also have to fork out a substantial fee due to a 'discovery rights' conflict with LA Galaxy. It is claimed that there has been a disagreement between the two clubs, with Galaxy registering an official interest in Casemiro before their Floridian rivals.
As a result, Casemiro is stuck in theoretical limbo until the dispute is resolved, should he harbour ambitions of playing the MLS, with LA Galaxy calling for £750k in compensation. GOAL reports that the midfielder and his representatives had previously held talks with LA Galaxy, who made contractual offers to attempt to secure his services in California.
After visiting family in Miami, however, Casemiro is said to have had his head turned - instead citing Inter as his destination of choice. Discovery rights conflicts are not a rare occurrence in Major League Soccer, with compensation packages historically being paid to sign players in recent history.
Marco Reus, for example, had rights held by Charlotte FC before he ultimately made the move from Borussia Dortmund to LA Galaxy. While Charlotte initially called for £602,000 in compensation as a result, they eventually settled for half of that sum in General Allocation Money.
A complex system which has faced scrutiny in the past, the MLS has a lengthy explanation with regards to the discovery process on its official website. It reads: "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.
"There is no limit to how many players a club can sign from its discovery list. Players who were previously on the Allocation Ranking List are now eligible for the discovery process. Players transferred out of Major League Soccer will become discoverable one week from when the player's ITC is permanently transferred and the League has notified all clubs."
It adds: "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.
Casemiro looks on
Casemiro is currently on World Cup duty with Brazil(Image: Getty Images)
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"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."
It comes as Manchester United are in the market for a new midfielder in the wake of Casemiro's imminent exit, although could face an uphill battle in securing their ideal candidate. While they are thought to hold an interest in Sandro Tonali, Elliot Anderson and Matheus Fernandes, they could be rivalled by the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
And with a wealth of competition, asking prices from parent clubs who are reluctant to lose players on long-term contracts may also be driven through the roof this summer, given they are in no rush to sell up.