World Cup winner Matuidi left off Inter Miami's roster for 2022 season

Miami, Feb 25, 2022 (AFP) - French World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi is set to leave MLS side Inter Miami after being left off the team's roster for the upcoming season.

Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville told reporters that the 34-year-old Matuidi had been left omitted from the roster as part of a rebuilding effort.

"I have nothing but incredible things to say about Blaise," Neville said in a briefing ahead of the 2022 Major League Soccer season.

"He's one of the players in the dressing room who I really relied on, but we had to make a tough decision to rebuild the team and he was part of that," Neville added.

Inter Miami sources said officials were still negotiating exit terms of Matuidi, a member of France's victorious 2018 World Cup squad, who has a year remaining on his current contract.

Former Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus player Matuidi joined Miami in 2020 in a controversial move that later led to the club being sanctioned for breaching league roster rules.

The club was subsequently hit with a $2-million fine.

Miami, whose ownership group includes former England superstar David Beckham, have struggled to make an impact during their first two seasons as an MLS franchise, failing to make the postseason in either campaign.