Inter Miami might have to pay £750,000 to sign Casemiro, even though he left Man United for free.
It’s been reported that Inter Miami might have to pay about £750,000 to LA Galaxy as part of finalizing Casemiro’s move. Casemiro is expected to join the Florida-based team once his Manchester United contract ends later this month. But, it seems Inter Miami may need to pay this big sum because of MLS rules around “discovery rights.”
Here’s a quick explanation: In MLS, each club can put five players on their “discovery list.” LA Galaxy has Casemiro on theirs, which gives them the first chance to negotiate with him. The Brazil star had talks with LA Galaxy before, and offers were made to bring him in. However, after visiting family in Miami, he changed his mind and plans to sign with Inter Miami as a free agent during the transfer window from July 13 to September 2.
This system can be a bit confusing and has drawn criticism, but it’s pretty normal in MLS. For example, when Marco Reus joined LA Galaxy from Borussia Dortmund in 2024, they had to pay $400,000 to Charlotte FC because Charlotte had him on their discovery list.
Here’s how MLS explains the discovery process on their website:
Clubs can scout and sign players not already under contract with MLS, as long as they put them on their discovery list first. Each club can have up to five players on this list and can add or remove players whenever they want. There’s no limit to how many players a club can eventually sign from their list. If more than one club wants the same player, the club that added him first gets priority. If clubs add a player on the same day, the one with the lowest points-per-game so far has priority.
If a club wants to sign a player from another club’s discovery list, they can offer $50,000 in General Allocation Money to get the right. Then, the club holding the player on their list has a few days to accept the offer and give up the rights or make a fair offer to sign the player themselves.
So, while Inter Miami may have to pay LA Galaxy for Casemiro’s discovery rights, it’s just how MLS rules work when bringing in top players like him.