David Beckham has revealed that sacking Phil Neville as Inter Miami manager was one of the most challenging episodes of his life.
The England legend pulled the plug on Neville in June 2023 with the club last in the MLS' Eastern Conference, just six weeks before signing Lionel Messi.
Beckham, who was team-mates with Neville at Manchester United and played 281 times with him in total, is co-owner of The Herons, who joined MLS in 2020.
'Phil has been in management for a long time, and he knows what happens in management,' Beckham told Rio Ferdinand Presents.
'I think when I first bought in Phil to manage the team in Miami, I knew what he was going to do. I knew he was going to steady the ship. I knew that he was going to bring the work ethic that I'd seen over the years.
David Beckham has admitted sacking Phil Neville was 'one of the hardest' things he has done
Neville was let go by Inter Miami in June last year after initial progress at the club tailed off
'Everything had to be perfect with Phil. He brought everyone together and he changed that club overnight. The work that Phil did, it was incredible.
'But Phil knew and he said the time, if I'm not getting the results, I know what's going to happen. And we're close enough to have that conversation.
'When he first came in, I said, "Phil, I don't want this to affect our friendship." He said, "I get it, it won't, when the time's right, if it's right, we'll both know." And we had a very sensible conversation but I will never underestimate what he did for the club.
'I think it was one of the most difficult things I'd had to do, even though me and Phil had spoke about it when he first came on as Miami coach, I knew that if it came to this moment, it was going to be difficult no matter what time it happened and when it happened.
'I'd called him and said, "we're going to meet," and he said "I know."
'We walked in the room and we hugged. It was quite emotional on my side just purely because I didn't want to sack a friend.'
Beckham and Neville played together 281 times for Manchester United and England
Neville was replaced with interim boss Javier Morales for four games before current boss Tata Martino was installed.
Martino used to manage Barcelona and has several former aces from the Spanish giants in Florida: Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba.
Beckham's decision appears to have been the right one, as they have since gone on to win the Eastern Conference and the Leagues Cup - though the arrival of former Barcelona stars has helped abundantly.
Listen to the full Rio Meets Becks interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. RioFerdinandPresents.com