Man United legend says Messi's arrival saw him sacked by Inter Miami

Manchester United legend, Phil Neville, has opened up on the conditions of his departure from Inter Miami and made a shocking admission about Lionel Messi.

Messi arrived at the club in July after it was announced a month earlier that he would be moving to the United States after running down his Paris Saint-Germain contract.

His presence has uplifted a team that was without a win in 11 games to become champions of the inaugural Leagues Cup - the first trophy in the club's history.

However, Messi's arrival was disastrous for one man in particular.

Neville was in charge of Inter Miami up until two weeks before the Argentine's arrival and was axed in favour of former Barcelona and Argentina manager, Tata Martino.

The Manchester United legend, while previewing the Leagues Cup final on the Offside with Taylor Twellman podcast, opened up on the circumstances surrounding his exit.

"I always had a feeling deep down I wasn't going to be [in Miami] when [Messi] was going to come to the club, and I say that not lacking confidence in myself, but this was different; this was not signing Gonzalo Higuain or Blaise Matuidi," he said.

Neville claimed the knowledge of what was coming helped him deal with the situation and he applauded how Inter Miami co-owner, David Beckham, handled the situation.

"I am not bitter, twisted or angry. They were incredibly honest to me. I have had two special moments in my career away from the medals that I won, and that is when I left Manchester United and when I left Miami."
The 46-year-old was in charge for 18 months before he was fired. He immediately took the assistant manager role with the Canada national team after his departure.