Galaxy's tampering complaint against Inter Miami in Casemiro deal is just petty | OneFootball

MLS 'discovery rights' system is ill-conceived and outdated

At this writing, Major League Soccer hasn't released any information about its investigation into Inter Miami's alleged tampering before its acquisition of former Brazil, Real Madrid and Manchester United star Casemiro. The Los Angeles Galaxy filed a complaint claiming that Inter Miami contacted Casemiro before receiving permission from the Galaxy, who owned the central midfielder's "discovery rights."

Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas denied the accusation Thursday.

“The rules are the rules, and we abided by those rules to the letter of the law,” Mas said. “We entered into no negotiations or conversations with Casemiro or his representatives previous to us talking to the league and talking to the L.A. Galaxy about working out how we’re able to get the green light to negotiate with Casemiro.”

MLS rules forbid teams from contacting players on another team's "discovery list." Because the Galaxy had placed Casemiro on its list, no other team was supposed to contact Casemiro without first acquiring the discovery rights from Los Angeles. Teams are allowed to have up to five players on their discovery lists, which is intended to prevent teams from engaging in bidding wars over players. Anthony Chiang explains the issue in detail in an article for the Miami Herald, but it boils down to this.

The discovery rights rule is dumb.

For starters, the Galaxy didn't "discover" Casemiro; he began his professional career at São Paulo FC in 2010 and moved to Real Madrid three years later. The MLS rule more accurately should be called the "Dibs" rule. Secondly, players of Casemiro's stature are being courted by clubs from around the world, not just the United States; the rule just makes it more complicated for MLS teams to sign world-class players.

Also, Casemiro -- who became a free agent when his Manchester United contract expired in June -- said he made it very clear to the Galaxy that he preferred to sign with Inter Miami.

“For the very first time in my career, I was free to select where I wanted to play," the 34-year-old said at his first Inter Miami press conference. "My family supported me a lot. My wife and my kids helped me a lot. I have always loved Miami. This was a place where I wanted to play at some point. Inter Miami gave me the opportunity. I’m where I want to be. I’m very happy.”

It's not clear when the Galaxy's complaint was filed; what is clear is that L.A. and Miami resolved the privacy rights dispute -- presumably with a high-priced buyout by the Herons, although details of the deal are being withheld until after the investigation is completed. In two high-profile discovery rights settlements in recent years, the Galaxy paid Charlotte FC $400,000 for the rights to negotiate with Marco Reus, and the Vancouver Whitecaps paid FC Cincinnati the same amount to negotiate with Thomas Müller. Miami is believed to have paid Los Angeles about twice that for Casemiro's discovery rights.

So, let's recap: Casemiro chose Miami over L.A.; the Herons paid the Galaxy a significant settlement fee for a player never on the Galaxy's roster and no assurance he would have signed with the Galaxy without Inter Miami's offer. It hurts to be rejected, but a payoff in the high six figures is a not insignificant consolation prize. Casemiro and Miami got what they wanted. Everybody should be happy.

Oh, and the privacy rights rule is dumb. And, if the Galaxy filed its complaint after agreeing to terms with Miami, the MLS investigation is dumb, too.

I think the Galaxy resent Las Garzas' replacing them as Major League Soccer's most glamorous destination and filed the complaint out of spite. The L.A. Galaxy has a long history of signing high-profile international stars and bringing them to MLS, most prominently Inter Heron founder David Beckham. Other big names to play for the Galaxy include Reus, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Javier 'Chicharito' Hernández, Robbie Keane, Ashley Cole, and Steven Gerrard. They're not used to high profile players choosing to sign elsewhere once the Galaxy has made them a target, and they don't like it.