David Beckham has told Minnesota United to “show a little respect” after they celebrated thrashing his star-studded Inter Miami team by calling them the “Pink Phony Club”.
Saturday’s Major League Soccer game between the sides inflicted on Lionel Messi his worst defeat since moving to the United States as Miami lost 4-1 at a packed Allianz Field.
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Minnesota, managed by former Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay, basked in the afterglow of that win on Instagram by taking aim at their opponents, whom Beckham co-founded in 2018 and who famously wear pink.
One post featured an image of their own players celebrating a goal and featured a part of the MLS standings showing Minnesota in fifth, a point ahead of Beckham’s side. The post was captioned “Pink Phony Club” in a play on words on the Chappell Roan song Pink Pony Club.
Beckham, the former Manchester United and England midfielder, responded to the post by writing: “Show a little respect @mnufc be elegant in triumph.”
In another jibe seemingly linked to the city of Minnesota’s longer association with professional football down the years, a post featured a photograph of a giant banner and read: “History over hype. Culture over cash.” The post was captioned: “49 years and counting”.
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Beckham responded, saying “respect over everything” in a comment featuring a pink heart emoji.
Miami were formed only in 2020 and won the Leagues Cup in 2023 during Messi’s first season in Florida.
They topped the regular season standings last term to win the Supporters’ Shield, only to bow out in the first round of the MLS play-offs to Atlanta United.
Miami are fourth in the Eastern Conference and sixth in the overall table after losing to Minnesota, who are enjoying a fruitful second season under Ramsay.
The 33-year-old left United for his current role in February last year and has recently been linked with the Southampton job.
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Welsh coach Ramsay said after beating Miami: “I think, for the club as a whole, that was really important. But certainly, for us as a team, to show that we can compete with the very best was really important for us.
“We’re obviously in a good place at the moment but we’ve got to keep that going, we’ve got to keep working.”
