Explained: Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham on how Lionel Messi moved to MLS

David Beckham sat down for an exclusive interview with The Athletic in his office at Inter Miami’s Fort Lauderdale training base.

Along with brothers Jorge and José Mas, the former LA Galaxy player is helping to build a club that has only been around for three years.

The Inter Miami co-owner opened up on several subjects, including the process of signing Lionel Messi.

“It all came from a conversation over a glass of wine at dinner,” Beckham tells The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

“I turn to Jorge 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’.”

Meeting Messi’s father

In September 2019, before Inter Miami ever kicked a ball, Beckham travelled to Barcelona, where Messi was playing at the time. “We got on a plane and flew to Barcelona from London secretly,” Beckham continues. “We snuck into a hotel, met Jorge Messi (Lionel’s father and agent) and started the conversation. 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’.

“Then obviously Jorge (Mas) did an incredible job creating a narrative around what he could do for the sport in this country, what he could do for MLS and what he could do for Inter Miami.”

Playing for LA Galaxy

Former England captain Beckham moved to MLS side LA Galaxy in 2007, a move which helped to build the league’s brand. “I think what helped with Leo is he’d seen my journey and what was possible,” the 48-year-old says.

“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. I’ve always loved America, loved the opportunity America bought to the world and loved the scale. 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 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. José 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.

“Leo has now won everything you can as a player. The World Cup must have been the icing on the cake. He saw this as a project, a legacy and I don’t think many players see that. They see the opportunity to play in different places, but Leo saw he could not just change the face of football in this country, he could inspire the next generation and there’s no better way of doing that than by walking on our pitch in Miami and having all of the kids talking about him, watching and learning. He’s also about making this game bigger and better in this country — he could do that, he will do that and he already has done that. It’s not just the whole of Miami talking about Leo, it’s the whole of America, the whole world.”

“Hell of an achievement”

Beckham went on to discuss how big of an achievement landing Messi really is. “Bringing Leo Messi to Inter Miami, to MLS, the year after he wins the World Cup, to a team that is three years old… it’s a hell of an achievement.”

The former Real Madrid midfielder described how he felt when his club secured the signing of Messi. “I never thought I would have the same feeling as an owner as I had when I was a player. When I got the phone call, 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’.”

Messi’s Inter Miami announcement

“I was in Japan with the family and woke up at 5am because my phone kept vibrating. My wife (former Spice Girls pop star Victoria) was like, ‘Really?! Turn your phone off!’. I look on my phone and I’m like, ‘What’s happened? Something’s happened!’. I put my glasses on and I’m like, ‘Leo’s coming! It’s done! He has announced it!’. My wife was like, ‘What do you mean he has announced it?’. I said, ‘He has gone on TV and said he’s coming to Inter Miami!’. I get goosebumps talking about it,” he adds.

“I phoned Jorge (Mas) straight away and got emotional because I know what we’ve gone through over the last few years. Trying to build this club, the obstacles, the challenges — trying to get land (to build a stadium), going to legal battles… for all of the problems we’ve had, this one moment changed everything. It changed our whole club. Once Victoria woke up properly, she hugged me, and that’s when I got emotional again.

“I have come in every single morning at 7.30am to just see him — to just know it’s real.”

Messi begins with a bang

Messi came off the bench to make his Inter Miami debut last week, scoring a stoppage-time free-kick to win the game for his new club - the third club of his glittering career. Just four days later, the World Cup winning captain netted two goals and provided two assists in a 4-0 win for Tata Martino’s side.