David Beckham has described bringing Lionel Messi to Inter Miami as one of the best moments of his life.
After months of speculation, Messi announced he would be moving to the US last month to join the club Beckham owns, snubbing a move to Saudi Arabia and a return to Barcelona.
He has already scored three goals in his first two games for his new club, and Beckham is delighted he managed to get a deal over the line for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
‘I never thought I would have the same feeling as an owner as I had when I was a player,’ Beckham told The Athletic.
‘When I got the phone call (to confirm Messi was joining), I had the feeling I had when I walked out at Old Trafford or Wembley. I was like, “We’ve just beaten all competition to sign the greatest player to ever play our game”.
David Beckham’s Inter Miami won the race for Lionel Messi’s signature last month
Beckham has described signing the Argentine playmaker as one of the best moments of his life
‘This will be up there with the biggest moves in American sporting history.’
When asked if it was one of the best moments of his life, Beckham responded: ‘Without a doubt’.
Inter Miami were only founded in 2018, and are still trying to establish themselves in MLS.
But Beckham has revealed he has always wanted to lure Messi over to the US, and teased the idea one day at dinner a decade ago.
‘It all came from a conversation over a glass of wine at dinner,’ he said.
‘I turn to Jorge (Mas, Inter Miami’s managing owner) and say, “One day, we need Messi to come to our club”. It was probably when we first met.
‘I actually found on my phone the other day one of the first presentations that (advertising agency) Doubleday & Cartwright did — they mocked up one of the jerseys with the logo on and Leo was wearing it. That was 10 years ago. So it was always in my mind.
‘I suppose every owner of a sports franchise thinks, “We want to bring the best players to our club”. Does it happen for everyone? Of course not. But we were sat at dinner and we were like, “OK, if we could bring Leo for our market, for our fans, for this part of the world, there’s no one better”.’
Beckham then followed up on his initial idea by flying to Barcelona in 2019 to speak with Messi’s father and agent Jorge, making it clear that he wanted Messi at Inter Miami.
‘We snuck into a hotel, met Jorge Messi and started the conversation,’ Beckham explained. ‘It purely went, “We would love your son to play for our team one day. We know he can’t come yet, but one day we would love to have Leo in Miami”.’
Messi has scored three goals in his first two appearances for Inter Miami, and celebrated by pointing at Beckham in the crowd earlier this week
Beckham’s persistence has paid off, with Inter Miami finally landing their man.
Messi turned 36 last month, but has shown no signs of slowing down just yet, having led Argentina to World Cup glory at the end of last year.
It has been suggested that Messi may view Inter Miami as the perfect place to run down his career before hanging up his boots, but his stunning start to life at his new club indicates he is taking his time in the US seriously.
He already looks to be enjoying his time at the club, and was seen pointing in Beckham’s direction when celebrating one of his goals earlier this week.
Beckham has compared Messi’s move to his own transfer when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007, and feels the Argentine is fully committed to Inter Miami’s long-term project.
‘When I made the move, I was 32 and had come from Real Madrid. I got criticism because I was going to a league that had 13, 14 teams and only six stadiums that were soccer-specific. A few people of a high level did hit out, but I was ready for the challenge,’ Beckham added.
‘People were saying, “You’re chancing this”. For me, it was never about that. I’ve always loved America, loved the opportunity America bought to the world and loved the scale.
Beckham is convinced Messi believes in Inter Miami’s long-term project
‘I always thought if I could ever live in America and do something that was going to change the face of the game here — and bring what I knew from Europe to this part of the world — I want to be part of that.
‘I’m not saying it was solely down to me because it wasn’t. There were an incredible amount of people that did incredible jobs to bring me to LA when the league was struggling, but they had the vision and commitment.
‘I think Leo had seen that and thought, “OK, this is an opportunity”. He also saw that this is a long-term project. If we lost our first two games with Leo, I’m not worried about that. I want to win. Leo wants to win. Jose and Jorge (Mas) want us to win.
‘But more importantly, this is a long-term project. That’s how I’ve always seen it. It’s how Leo sees it.’
