Back in the summer of 2007, England international David Beckham made headlines by leaving Real Madrid and joining MLS club LA Galaxy on a free transfer at 31-years-old.
The move stunned soccer fans all over the world and many thought it made zero sense to leave the biggest club in soccer to join a league that was just over 10-years-old at the time. However, 16 years later when the game's greatest player came to the MLS, it all started to make sense.
When Beckham signed his Galaxy contract, the deal included an option for the former Manchester United player to own a future MLS club for a reported $25 million—which would end up being Inter Miami.
Of course, Beckham isn't the sole owner of Inter Miami. He's part of the ownership group that features brothers Jorge and Jose Mas who both rose to prominence after taking over their fathers' construction company in the 1990's.
Just as Beckham changed the future of the sport in the U.S. both on and off the field after joining the Galaxy, he hopes that Lionel Messi will have a similar effect after he joined Miami in July 2023. Although Messi was 36-years-old when moved to MLS, he's proven that he's still one of the best players in the world that chose to come to Miami on a free transfer when he could've gone anywhere in the world.
Speaking on former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand's podcast, Beckham explained how MLS has evolved over the year and how he hopes it continues to grow well after Messi's playing days in the U.S. and Canada.
"So a lot has changed over the years [with the MLS] and I feel very proud that I've been part of that change," Beckham said. "I know that there's still a lot of work to do, but I think what we've done in Miami, when you bring someone like Leo [Messi] to America, I always said that it was our gift."
While Messi is no doubt a huge commercial boost for Miami and MLS as a whole, Beckham reveals he wanted to bring a player of Messi's quality to MLS to also help lift the level of soccer in the U.S. in the future.
"As an ownership group and as a person that owns the club, I wanted to do something for the game. I also wanted to do something for America because they've given me so much over the years and they've given me so much love that to bring Leo [Messi] to inspire the next generation of players in America, that's what we wanted to do," he said.
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Beckham recalled conversations he had with former Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson prior to getting Inter Miami up and running, citing the need to bring players who are the best fit for the club and not necessarily the best players on the market.
"I think that one of the things that I learned from the boss over the years, and it wasn't something that he specifically told me," he said. "One of the things that I learned from the boss was it's not about bringing the biggest and best players, it's about bringing the right players.
"If you can bring the biggest and best players that is the right player, then there's not many of them around, but with Leo [Messi], what we knew that we were bringing and I knew that yes he was going to be successful on the field but I also knew that he was going to help our club off the field."
Messi certainly ticks both of those boxes as he cemented himself as the greatest of all time following his 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph with Argentina, capable of making teammates better no matter where he's played.
Off the pitch, Messi is a perfect fit in south Florida alongside his former Barcelona teammates due to the large Hispanic population in Miami that helped him seamlessly transition to life in the U.S. while also bringing more eyes to MLS.
Beckham looks to have done soccer in the U.S. a favor by bringing Messi to MLS, and the former England international will be watching on this weekend in Miami's final regular season match ahead of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Herons can make history with a win against New England Revolution that would set a new single-season points record with 74 points.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as David Beckham Calls Lionel Messi 'Our Gift' to America and MLS.
