Matuidi signing is being investigated
MLS determining if deal complied with league guidelines
Last summer, Inter Miami CF made international headlines by signing heralded midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
Now that acquisition is under investigation by Major League Soccer.
The league announced in a statement Friday that it has launched a formal review, looking at the salary of the former Juventus player and roster guidelines.
“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,” the statement read.
Matuidi, 33, joined Inter Miami in August 2020 on a free transfer after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with Juventus after three seasons with the Italian soccer club.
Inter Miami signed Matuidi with targeted allocation money — an MLS mechanism that allows clubs to sign players whose annual salary exceeds the maximum budget charge ($612,500 in 2020).
MLS clubs were allowed to spend $2.8 million of TAM in 2020, with approximately $1.61 million being the maximum salary a player can earn in the league without being registered as a designated player. The maximum salary budget in 2020 was $4.9 million.
Inter Miami also announced that it used TAM last year to sign Nico Figal and Leandro González Pirez.
The league’s DP rule allows teams to acquire up to three players whose compensation and acquisition costs are greater than the maximum salary charge while carrying the maximum budget charge.
When reached for comment via a club spokesperson, Inter Miami stated: “Inter Miami CF acknowledges the statement made by Major League Soccer today, and we look forward to fully engaging with the league’s review process. We will have no further comment.”
Even though his transfer was free, a player of Matuidi’s caliber was expected to command a salary large enough to make him a DP — which made his status as a TAM player surprising when his acquisition was announced.
He’s appeared in two World Cups, including winning with France in 2018. Matuidi won three Serie A championships with Juventus, four Ligue 1 titles and was named the 2015 French Player of the Year by the French magazine France Football during his time at Paris Saint-Germain.
Inter Miami signed two DPs before the 2020 season started: 20-year-old Argentine midfielder Matías Pellegrini in July 2019 and Mexican midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro in February 2020. Pellegrini is classified as a young DP, which carried a salary charge of $150,000 (20 and younger) or $200,000 (21-23) last season depending on their age.
Inter Miami signed world-renowned forward Gonzalo Higuaín using its final DP slot last September, a month after the club acquired Matuidi. If Matuidi signed with Inter Miami as a DP, it would’ve made it less likely for them to sign Higuaín.
It isn’t yet known what punishment Inter Miami could face if the league’s investigation finds the club of wrongdoing.
Even though he was Inter Miami’s sporting director at the time of Matuidi’s signing, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Paul McDonough “is not being looked at as part of MLS investigation.”
McDonough rejoined Atlanta United’s front office during the offseason as vice president of soccer operations after his departure from Inter Miami in December. Chris Henderson was hired as Inter Miami’s chief soccer officer and sporting director in January.
Inter Miami start training camp begins Monday.
The team has five preseason matches scheduled and is expecting to schedule one more before the MLS regular season gets underway April 17.