WHEN Lionel Messi lined up for David Beckham’s Inter Miami football team, it was the biggest coup in the history of the sport.
In a remarkable piece of wheeler dealing, the former England captain persuaded the world’s greatest player to sign for a team at the bottom of their United States league.
Not only that, 36-year-old Messi, who captained Argentina to victory in last summer’s World Cup, turned down a reported billion-pound offer from Saudi Arabia’s top team.
Business-savvy Becks has cleverly harnessed the power of his celebrity pals to entice Messi with the kind of glamour that can’t be matched in the Middle East.
A-listers such as reality TV queen Kim Kardashian, basketball superstar Lebron James and tennis legend Serena Williams were there to watch the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s Inter Miami debut on Friday night.
When Beckham announced the creation of the Florida football side five years ago, music mogul Jay-Z, superstar singer J-Lo, A-list actor Will Smith and Olympic athlete Usain Bolt were by his side.
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The 48-year-old appeared to be close to tears after Messi scored an injury time winner in a cup match at the club’s temporary home ground.
That is understandable, given the setbacks he has endured in setting up a football team from scratch.
A promised state-of-the-art stadium is yet to be built following legal challenges, residents’ protests and the discovery of arsenic in the soil.
‘It’s a dream’
David’s wife Victoria, 49, has been his rock throughout, uprooting the family to spend a lot of the year in Miami.
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A source close to the family told us: “Signing Messi has put the team on the global map.
“It’s not just players backing the team, however. David and Victoria’s famous friends have all put weight behind it. Kim Kardashian’s son Saint is a huge football fan and Messi is his idol.
“The same can be said of the Beckhams’ pals like singer Marc Anthony, American football star Tom Brady and Lebron James, who can often be seen at games.
“It’s not just a club, it’s being seen as more of a brand which is hugely commercially viable.”
They added: “From the beginning of the venture over five years ago Victoria said she would support David at every step and that couldn’t be more true.
“Miami is fast becoming a second home for the family and they loved the relaxed pace of life there.”
Two years ago the Beckhams bought a £18.5million Miami penthouse in a 707ft tower designed by star architect Zaha Hadid, boasting a helipad and views of the Atlantic ocean.
The couple’s four children now have close ties to the area, too.
Eldest son Brooklyn, 24, married actress Nicola Peltz, 28, at the home of her billionaire father just down the road in Palm Beach, while footballer Romeo, 20, was on the books of Inter Miami’s reserve team.
Daughter Harper, 12, spends most of her summer holidays in Miami and musician Cruz, 18, has enjoyed hanging out on the £5million family yacht on the city’s sun-soaked waters.
Becks is often seen out on the town himself with celebrity pals, including Tom Brady.
Another close pal is nightlife impresario David Grutman, known as the “King of Miami” due to his restaurant and nightclub empire.
David was best man when Marc Anthony, ex-husband of Jennifer Lopez, wed model Nadia Ferreira at Miami’s Pérez Art Museum in January.
Goldenballs created a huge buzz when he appeared at the Miami Grand Prix last year, while Victoria has been spotted out locally with her pal, Desperate Housewives’ actress Eva Longoria.
The Beckhams have eaten at hotspots including Makoto, where the Kardashians have been seen, and Zuma Miami, a favourite of rap star Drake and Will Smith.
But David also enjoys more humble food and regularly stops by Enriqueta’s Sandwich Shop, a Cuban eatery where the most expensive dishes are £9.
Leidys Pla, whose family own the restaurant, told us: “He — has a little coffee — he likes Costa Rican coffee and loves the pork or a Cubano sandwich.
He’s always very nice and takes pictures with anyone who wants them.
Leidys Pla
“He’s always very nice and takes pictures with anyone who wants them.”
Her mother Lucia Pla added with a smile: “David Beckham is my friend.”
But even Becks’ A-list pals have been overshadowed by the arrival of Messi, who is being treated like a deity in the majority Latino city.
Everyone wanted to be at the game to see the South American maestro, with touts charging as much as £85,000 for tickets.
Murals celebrating the Argentinian striker have sprung up in countless places, while enterprising businesses are offering Messi-themed sandwiches and even a Messi beer.
Inter fan Maximiliano Infantino, 46, told The Sun: “It’s a dream to have Messi here. Beckham can really make things happen.
“Miami doesn’t know what’s going to hit it.
“You look at the bus stops and all you see are pictures of Messi. It’s going to change everything.”
One mural covers an entire side of a seven-floor building and shows two images of Messi painted by a local graffiti artist and touched up by Beckham, who stopped by to paint Messi’s teeth.
Axel Montano, 30, who was selling T-shirts by the mural, said: “I want to thank David Beckham for bringing Lionel Messi to this city.
‘Cocktail for success’
“They are equals and they understand each other.”
Convincing the sublime soccer superstar to join the club clearly meant a huge deal to Beckham.
The ex-England captain, who co-owns the club with Miami businessman Jorge Mas, said: “The moment that Leo went on TV and announced that he was coming to Miami, that was an emotional moment.”
He has been pursuing Messi for at least two years.
The former Barcelona star is rumoured to be on a basic annual wage of £15million, plus £30million in bonuses, and is also due to get a stake in the team when his contract ends in 2025.
Messi arrived on a free transfer from Paris St Germain and his earnings will be partly funded by a streaming deal with Apple Plus.
For us it’s a dream to have Messi here. Beckham can really make things happen.
Maximiliano Infantino
Landing his signature has impressed fellow bosses in the game, including The Apprentice star and West Ham vice-chairman Baroness Karren Brady.
She told The Sun: “With his boots on, Becks proved that unique technical ability and a tireless work ethic — aided by no shortage of charm and a sharp understanding of his own marketability — was a surefire cocktail for success.
“In the boardroom he is proving just the same as a football club owner.”
Anyone who dismissed Beckhams as a footballer-turned-underwear model couldn’t be more wrong.
He earned £657,000 per week last year, with most of the money coming from his brand, which is licensed to Adidas, Electronic Arts video games, Haig Club whisky, Maserati cars and Tudor watches.
Those sums could be overshadowed by Inter Miami in the future.
The club is Beckham’s personal project, after he cut a canny deal when he signed to play football for LA Galaxy 16 years ago.
With his boots on, Becks proved that unique technical ability and a tireless work ethic — aided by no shortage of charm and a sharp understanding of his own marketability — was a surefire cocktail for success.
Karren Brady
As part of the agreement, Major League Soccer promised Beckham could set up his own football team in the US for less than a quarter of the normal fee demanded by the competition.
But he has had to overcome objections from locals to various plans for a permanent stadium in the Florida city.
At the moment, the team plays 30 miles away in Fort Lauderdale’s 21,000-capacity DRV PNK Stadium, which used to be the home of another football team.
The first Inter Miami home match in 2020 had to be postponed due to Covid restrictions — and Beckham has gone through four managers in four years.
He displayed a ruthless streak by sacking old England and Manchester United team-mate Phil Neville last month, with the club currently languishing bottom at 15th in the Eastern Conference league.
The success of the Apple TV football comedy Ted Lasso and the Disney Plus Welcome To Wrexham documentary — about Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney taking over other Welsh non-league side — proves there is an appetite for the sport in the US.
That interest will only increase when the United States, Mexico and Canada co-host the World Cup in three years.
Baroness Brady adds: “We can all look on with pride as we see one of our greatest national treasures now helping to inspire another generation by sprinkling more stardust in the US.
“It can only be positive for the future welfare of our beautiful game as the love of it continues to spread across the world.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
