It's 10 years since Lionel Messi and David Beckham shared a football pitch as second-half subs in a Champions League tie between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
The game at the Nou Camp ended 1-1, with the Spanish side progressing on away goals. Five years later Beckham, now retired, launched his Major League Soccer side, Inter Miami.
It was then that Messi sent the former Manchester United midfielder a social media message: “Who knows, maybe in a few years you can give me a ring." Now that moment has come.
Messi will join Miami this summer, moving to the States to continue his football journey and play outside Europe for the first time. It's the end of a lengthy pursuit by Beckham and Miami, which began when the Argentina legend left Barcelona for Paris two years ago.
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Beckham, himself a former PSG player, visited the French club's training base in April where he spoke with Messi. The two will surely have mentioned Miami.
Now, Beckham has his man. Messi will take Miami to new levels off the pitch and the hope will be he can do something similar on it. Miami are bottom of the Eastern Conference and have lost their last six MLS matches, sacking manager Phil Neville in the process. Messi is not joining a ready-made team but a work in progress. But Beckham always wanted to marry promising youngsters with world-class talent.
“We will want to bring some of the best players in football to Miami," he said in 2014. "I’ve seen what it means when you bring great players into a team. I’m talking about the Heat. That’s the fortunate thing about my career, the teams I played for and with. Players are already interested in Miami.”
"We are taking another important step in establishing our club and today marks an important moment in the history of Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami," added Beckham when the team was launched. The day Messi signs that contract will be another.
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