David Beckham for The Athletic has lifted the veil on the circumstances of Lionel Messi’s commitment to Inter Miami.
It’s a hell of a story delivered this weekend by David Beckham in the digital pages of the American media The Athletic. The boss of Inter Miami returns point by point to the various events which led Lionel Messi to commit to the Florida franchise. ” It all started with a conversation over a glass of wine at dinner “, confides the person concerned. A dinner with Jorge Messi, the father and adviser of La Pulga. ” I told him: “One day, Messi will have to come to our club. That’s probably when we first got along. »
The dinner in question dates back at least five years. In September 2019, when Inter Miami has not yet played its first official match but Beckham’s American intention – imagined from his signing for the LA Galaxy, as a player, in 2007 – is already all mapped out , the former glory of Manchester United meets again Jorge Messi. ” We got on a plane and secretly flew from London to Barcelona. We snuck into a hotel, met Jorge Messi and struck up a conversation. The conversation boiled down to this: “We would like your son to play for our team one day. We know he can’t come yet, but one day we would like to have Leo in Miami”. »
“A long-term project”
Four years later, while contacts have never been broken between the boss of Miami and the Messi clan, the MLS project imposes itself on the captain of the Albiceleste, freshly crowned world champion. After two years in Paris, the seven-time Ballon d’Or does not want to re-enlist and is considering the American, Saudi and Barcelona options. ” I think Leo was like, ‘OK, this is an opportunity. He also understood that this was a long-term project. (…) I want to win. Leo wants to win. Jose and Jorge (Mas, the co-owners of the franchise, editor’s note) want us to win. But the most important thing is that this is a long-term project. That’s how I’ve always seen it. That’s how Leo sees it. »
” Leo understood that he could not only change the face of football in this country, but also inspire the next generationcontinues David Beckham. There’s no better way to do that than by walking onto our lot in Miami and seeing all the kids talking about it, watching it, and learning. It’s also about making the sport bigger and better in this country – it can do it, it will and it has done it. It’s not just all of Miami talking about Leo, it’s all of America, the whole world. »
The former darling of Old Trafford finally admits his emotion at having pulled off such a blow. ” I would never have thought that I would experience as an owner the same feeling as when I was a player. When I got the phone call (confirming Messi’s commitment to Miami, editor’s note), I had the same feeling as when I left Old Trafford or Wembley. I said to myself: “We have just beaten all the competition to sign the greatest player in the history of our sport”. »
