David Beckham’s ambition to bring big stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to newly formed Inter Miami prompted chortles of derision.
Well, no one’s laughing now with Messi set to play his first game for Beckham’s MLS side next month and possibly the Argentinian’s former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets to follow.
Beckham who himself pushed the MLS to new heights after signing for LA Galaxy in 2007 has learned to be patient in his attempt to push the bar even higher for football in the USA.
After all it took him seven years to get his Florida-based franchise into operation and it was back in February 2020 as they prepared for their first game that the former Manchester United star first mentioned his dream of signing a world superstar.
He maintained then: “We’ve got great opportunities down in Miami. As any owner you really want the best players and if we have the opportunity to bring in players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, and I’ve got so much admiration for both of them, then great.”
Fast forward to the summer of 2023 and Messi, World Cup winner and seven-time Ballon d’Or recipient will join the Inter Miami roster.
Former Liverpool star Steve Nicol, a regular pundit for ESPN and who follows the MLS scene, believes Messi’s capture is sending the game on the other side of the Atlantic into the footballing stratosphere.
“Look at the legacy David Beckham has for what he has done in the MLS,” Nicol said. “Lionel Messi can take it up another step.
“So not only will we talk about him as arguably the greatest footballer that has ever played but he is also going to grab a country’s lead and take it to higher heights. What better legacy can he have?
“When I was coaching in the MLS it would have been unthinkable to believe you could bring someone like Messi to the league. Six months ago this guy won the World Cup. This is a guy Barcelona, one of the world’s greatest teams want in their side now.
“He could step onto the field with virtually any team on the planet and so the fact that he has come to the MLS is absolutely huge. It tells you how it has grown and where it is now.”
It also once again endorses Beckham’s Messi like decision in 2007 to reject a new two year contract at Real Madrid plus overtures from a number of leading European clubs including AC Milan and Inter Milan.
Part of the deal was the promise of a new MLS franchise at a reduced cost, hence his involvement with Inter Miami.
Now thanks to Messi’s incoming the club struggling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and managerless since sacking Phil Neville are the biggest show in town.
Ticket prices for home games have gone through the roof with $1,000 the going rate for ones normally bought for around $100 while other clubs are looking at full houses for the visit of Messi and company.
Wayne Rooney can only look on as D.C. United manager with a little bit of envy at events in Miami. He said: “Commercially I am sure it will be huge. It shows that the MLS can compete with the other leagues and this is a huge step.
“To get Messi here who won the World Cup almost singlehandedly is fantastic.”
For Messi who celebrated his 36th birthday yesterday, it’s also been a family decision to uproot to South Florida. “I want to enjoy my day-to-day life more but without losing the responsibility of trying to win things.”
For Beckham, the work goes on in the knowledge that not only is a young Inter Milan developing but the MLS is still on an upward curve.
Any laughter has been well suppressed.
