Up to the ‘challenge’
Inter Miami signs Matuidi, a French World Cup winner and former teammate of club owner Beckham
Inter Miami CF has signed Blaise Matuidi, locking in a world-renowned central midfielder — and doing so without using its final designatedplayer slot.
The club announced the signing of the former Juventus midfielder Thursday morning, the second day of Major League Soccer’s secondary transfer window. Matuidi’s signing fills a need that Inter Miami Chief Operating Officer and sporting director Paul McDonough had faced since the coronavirus pandemic suspended the season in March.
“Blaise is one of the most successful midfielders of his generation and we’re thrilled to have him at Inter Miami,” McDonough said in a statement. “His world-class quality and leadership will be key attributes for the club.”
The Toulouse, France, native will wear No. 8 with his new team and will provide a boost to an Inter Miami attack that’s struggled to create quality scoring opportunities in its inaugural MLS season.
Matuidi, 33, will occupy an international roster slot, pending the receipt of his international transfer certificate and P-1 Visa. Inter Miami signed him on a free transfer with targeted allocation money (TAM), which allows MLS clubs to sign players whose salary and acquisition costs exceed the maximum salary budget charge but below the maximum TAM salary (maximum salary budget charge plus $1 million), according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Juventus, which was significantly impacted financially by the pandemic, and Matuidi mutually agreed to terminate his contract Wednesday. Terms of his contract with Inter Miami weren’t revealed, but ESPN reported earlier in the week Matuidi agreed to a three-year deal and took a pay cut to join the club.
“For me, it was a fast but really thoughtful choice,” Matuidi said in French in a video he released on Youtube talking about why he joined Inter Miami. “I was feeling ready to live a new experience in my life — in my athlete life, of course but also in my family life.
“I’m going to MLS; I’m not going on vacation — far from it. I’m going there because I’m still a competitor and for me now it’s another challenge.”
Since Inter Miami used TAM to sign Matuidi, it still has one designated-player spot open for the goalscoring forward it has long coveted.
“I made my decision a few weeks ago to join [Inter Miami], rise to my friend David Beckham’s challenge and win new trophies there,” Matuidi wrote in a tweet. “My family and I can’t wait.”
Matuidi brings a wealth of experience, in both league and international play, to Inter Miami. He made 133 total appearances in his three seasons with Juventus. Matuidi played in 35 of Juventus’ 38 Serie A games this season en route to the Italian soccer club winning its ninth consecutive title.
In addition to three league titles, Matuidi won a Coppa Italia (2017–18) and Supercoppa Italiana (2018) during his time with Juventus.
He has made 84 appearances with France’s national men’s soccer team since 2010 — playing in the 2014 World Cup and starting for the team that won the 2018 World Cup, making him the only World Cup winner to currently be in MLS. Matuidi has also played for Troyes (2004-07), SaintEtienne (2007-11) and Paris Saint-Germain (2011-17). He won four Ligue 1 titles, four French League Cups and was named the 2015 French Player of the Year by the French magazine France Football during his time at PSG.
Matuidi was teammates with Beckham, Inter Miami co-owner and president of soccer operations, at PSG in 2013 before Beckham’s retirement that same year. Now the two will be reunited, with Matuidi playing for the team Beckham owns.
“I couldn’t be happier to welcome my friend Blaise to Inter Miami,” Beckham said in a statement. “He is an exciting and gifted player and a great person. To have a World Cup winner of Blaise’s quality in our new team is such a proud moment — for us as owners and for our fans. For me personally, to have a former teammate joining our club is very special and I can’t wait to welcome him and his beautiful family to South Florida.”