NEVER mind that David Beckham was a hugely gifted footballer — he’s quite a smart operator, too.
Remember Woody Allen’s Zelig, always popping up in historic places among famous faces?
Beckham is like that. From London’s Olympic bid to the queue to visit the Queen lying in state, Becks was there.
No one minds that. Or him. He smiles well, talks confidently and he is almost wholly liked across the world but for one thing — those 60-odd tattoos from knee to neck.
Still, he’s a go-getter and he went and got a player even better known than himself . . . Lionel Messi, who also rather likes a spot of body art.
One leg, revealed only when his football socks are around his ankles, might just have been dipped in tar.
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When Inter Miami part-owner Beckham helped create the MLS club in 2018, the mental barrier that US males have towards “soccer” barely moved.
Until the top brass at the Fort Lauderdale stadium had a brainwave: Get Messi!
They had a persuasive argument as Messi already had a home in Miami — and was keen to take his family over.
He was reportedly offered up to £400million a year to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia — more than double what Al-Nassr are said pay his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Former Real Madrid megastar CR7 is said have eight homes and no tattoos.
The pressure on Messi, now 36, after Argentina’s triumphant World Cup campaign last season was huge.
On joining Miami, Messi said: “I want to get back to enjoy myself, to enjoy my family, my children.”
Paris Saint-Germain had become a chore.
He may have chosen to return to Barcelona — where he won four Champions League crowns, ten LaLiga titles and more — but they had run out of ultra-money.
Beckham missed a few chances on the field but hardly any at all in business.
I have long suspected his wife — former Spice Girl Victoria — has played a major part in his off-pitch success.
He has the smile, she has the brains.
So, they moved across the US from Los Angeles to Miami and soon — with billionaire brothers Jorge and Jose Mas — obtained an MLS franchise.
When it was clear Messi (below) was leaving Paris, Beckham was the obvious channel for a US transfer.
His old Barca pals Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba followed.
A-listers headed to the Florida coast to watch the new team.
Inter Miami will have a new stadium in two years, no doubt holding well above the current 21,000 capacity.
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Messi, naturally, scored on his MLS debut in last week’s 2-0 win over New York Red Bulls.
I’m sure it’s the start of a US soccer surge but there is lots of work to do. If anyone can do it, I am sure David Beck-ham can.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
