Messi joining Miami always meant the end for me as coach, admits Phil Neville

Phil Neville knew Lionel Messi's arrival at Inter Miami would likely mean the end for him as coach - regardless of how well results were going on the field.

Neville was fired by Miami co-owner David Beckham, his lifelong friend, on June 1 - just two weeks before Lionel Messi officially signed for the MLS team. He left with the team last in the MLS Eastern Conference after a run of two wins in 13.

But since Messi has joined with Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba -  while Tata Martino replaced Neville as coach - Miami have been transformed. Messi has scored nine goals in six games to propel the team into Saturday's Leagues Cup final against Nashville - Miami's first final and first chance to win silverware.

Speaking for the first time on his departure on Taylor Twellman's Offside podcast, Neville has opened up on the difficult conversation he had with Beckham and insists he does not look at Miami with any bitterness.

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

'You look around the world, the way he has been at other clubs and there has always been certain managers that managed him. The bottom line for me was, forget Messi, the results weren't good enough the last month I was in the job and I knew that. That is the reason I left.

'When I look in the mirror in the morning and my friends or social media say "it could have been you", well no it couldn't have. The results were not good enough. I knew the vision, I knew what the club wanted. I've been in football a long time and sometimes it is not meant to be. I am not