Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham kept his response as friendly as possible when asked why he recruited Lionel Messi to MLS rather than his other club, Salford City. But the reasoning — location, status on their respective domestic tier list, quality of squad — was obvious.
"Yes, I am part-owner of Salford City," Beckham explained at a leadership conference in north London. "And Salford is a great place. But, obviously, Argentina is closer to Miami than Salford. I think that was quite a pull for Leo…"
Beckham didn't say more and didn't need to — Miami has always been the place he wanted to bring Messi. Securing the legendary Argentina forward ahead of interest from the Saudi Pro League and Barcelona elevated Beckham's influence on American football to new heights after he had already become a key figure as a player with the LA Galaxy.
