Lionel Messi to Inter Miami is an open secret with the World Cup winner's move to Major League Soccer imminent.
And David Beckham has spoken publicly for the first time about bringing the Argentina legend to the States. While the former Manchester United man stopped short of confirming the move, he spoke about Messi's summer arrival as being the kind of transfer he wanted to deliver when kickstarting the franchise.
“A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to about a million messages on my phone,” said Beckham, speaking at a Q&A in London and quoted by The Athletic. “I was thinking, ‘What’s gone off? I don’t usually get this many messages’. All of a sudden, I hear Leo has come out and announced he’s coming to Miami. Obviously, it wasn’t a surprise to me.
“I have always said from the word go that if I had the opportunity to bring the best players in the game to Miami, at whatever time of their careers, I would do that. I have always made that commitment to our fans.
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“So when I hear that one of the best players — if not the best player — who has won everything in the game, who is still a great player, still young and still doing what he’s doing, wants to play for my team, it’s a massive moment for us.”
Miami are in need of a lift. They are bottom of the Eastern Conference and sacked Beckham's former United teammate Phil Neville earlier in the season. His replacement is former Argentina and Barcelona boss Gerardo Martino, well-known to Messi from club and country.
So Beckham and the MLS have their man, footballing royalty moving just months after lifting the World Cup. Murals are already springing up in Florida ahead of Messi's arrival to a place he has visited plenty and always liked.
Indeed, one of the questions posed to Beckham as he engaged with the public at the Q&A as part of 'Lessons In Leadership’ for the newly-established Lira Winston Fellowships, was why he'd lured Messi to Miami over Salford City - his other footballing interest.
“Yes, I am part-owner of Salford City,” he said. “And Salford is a great place. But, obviously, Argentina is closer to Miami than Salford. I think that was quite a pull for Leo…”
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