Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham called on Minnesota United to "show a little respect" after a series of Instagram posts following Miami's humbling 4-1 MLS defeat on Saturday.
Lionel Messi got on the scoresheet for the visitors at St. Paul but Minnesota (6-2-4, 22 points) handed Miami (6-2-3, 21 points) its heaviest loss in a game the Argentina legend has played.
Afterwards, Minnesota irked Beckham with a number of Instagram posts, prompting the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy midfielder into the comments section.
First, Beckham took exception to one that was was captioned "Pink Phony Club" -- alluding to Miami's kit colour and the song "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan.
"Show a little respect, be elegant in triumph," Beckham posted.
Minnesota then posted a picture of a banner from the game that read: "History over hype, culture over cash." The words "hype and cash" were highlighted in pink.
Beckham, who launched Inter Miami in 2018, commented on the post: "Respect over everything."
On Monday, Miami coach Javier Mascherano addressed the situation, asserting that criticism is an inherent aspect of soccer.
"The reality is that you have to learn to live with criticism, and above all, on how to capitalize on it. There's constructive criticism that makes you see things. Others [types of criticism] aren't very useful, and they have to do with simply attacking," the Argentinian coach said.
"In my case, I'm already used to it, and most of the players had to learn to live with this too."
Miami's only other defeat this season came at the hands of FC Dallas. Miami next travels to face San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, when striker Luis Suárez could return to the lineup.
