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.
The process of getting Messi to agree to the move took many months. But Beckham said his confidence never wavered.
"A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to about a million messages on my phone," Beckham explained. "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.
"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."
For Beckham, this is the culmination of many years of hard work building Inter Miami. He was involved from the outset as an initial investor, and the MLS expansion club are still in their fifth year of existence.
Salford are an entirely different endeavour, a slower burn given their place in League Two. Beckham purchased a 10 per cent stake in the English organisation in 2019 along with former Manchester United team-mates Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. For now, world-class on-field talent isn't attainable.
But Beckham can revel in what he now has on the warm beaches of Miami: an emerging cultural phenomenon featuring not only Messi, but also ex-Barcelona star Sergio Busquets. It will be bedlam in the U.S. when those European club icons make their debuts.
Messi is expected to play his first Inter Miami match on July 21 against Mexican side Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup. Tickets for the occasion sold out almost immediately, and the club will temporarily bring in an additional 3,000 seats to DRV PNK Stadium to accommodate the rush.
Even in Salford, many eyes will be on the nimble Argentine, eagerly watching how he performs in his new home.
