David Beckham insists Inter Miami boss Phil Neville was appointed on merit

• Beckham stresses Neville's appointment not due to friendship
• Neville named manager of MLS club Inter Miami on Monday

David Beckham bristled when asked whether Phil Neville's was hired as Inter Miami coach because they're buddies.

Of course, people are always going to turn around and say, oh, it's because he's your friend. It's nothing to do with him being my friend," Beckham said Friday. Our ownership group don't just employ our friends. We employ the best people, whether it's on the field, off the field, in our backroom staff, the staff that we have work in our training facility, at the stadium.