David Beckham, co-owner of the MLS club Inter Miami, expressed concern over Lionel Messi’s choice to join the team this summer.
In an exclusive interview on Gary Neville’s podcast, ‘Stick to Football,’ the former England forward admitted that the club was kept in the dark about Messi’s decision making process, which worried him until the World Cup winner made his announcement.
Beckham admitted on the show that he got more passionate than he should have over signing Messi. “Just because for the last decade I’ve been trying to get this team up and running in Miami, there have been so many obstacles and challenges that at times it looked like it wasn’t going to happen, and then obviously everything came together once I found the right partners in Miami.”
“I learned of his visit to Japan on a morning when I was already there. The previous week, his father had phoned and said, “Leo’s going to make an announcement,” and then two days prior, [his team] said, “in the next two or three days he’ll come out and say something,” so we were just waiting.
It was 5 o’clock in the morning, and I was in Japan for work. Everyone was in bed, even Victoria, but my phone was driving me crazy since I’d forgotten to put it on mute. After Victoria told me to put it away, I checked it and saw that he’d finished his interview and there was a deluge of messages.
We always wanted him to make the decision based on his desire to be near his family, to continue winning and playing football his way, and to make the announcement in his own time.
There is video evidence of him declaring his intention to visit Miami while sitting in a hotel room with a friend. Since we had to put forth so much effort to get here, the experience was truly remarkable.
We made the offer, but he also received offers from Saudi Arabia and Barcelona, the latter of which gave me pause because of the emotional toll it would take on my son. He never had a proper farewell, but in the end, the choice was his.
Beckham also discussed the unique opportunity he had to observe Messi in action as a club owner.
Beckham revealed, “I played against [Lionel] Messi for PSG [Paris Saint-Germain] and for Real Madrid, against Barcelona.”And obviously he was fantastic before, but it isn’t until you sit there and watch him that you realize he never throws the ball away in all of his moves.
I spent the first five weeks of Lionel’s training in Miami, where he had just joined the team. And I’m 48 years old, so simply to watch him do what he does, train the way that he does, and prepare is just different.’ I was at the training field at 7:00am every morning just to watch him.
Beckham claims Messi’s passion and determination to win games hasn’t altered since his time with the Spanish giants, despite the fact that his style of play has evolved.
‘You have to run, you have to chase,’ our generation was brought up hearing, and then you look at him. He has a unique style of thinking and is quite intelligent.
He can spot opportunities that the rest of the team won’t see for another five minutes. It’s incredible to see because he still has his work ethic and never turns the ball over.
He won the World Cup last year, and he still has the same insatiable appetite he did when he was a youngster.
Within a matter of weeks after Messi’s transfer, the Florida-based team won their first-ever title, the Leagues Cup.
However, the Argentine master has been injured and has missed the team’s last three games.
Miami lost the US Open Cup championship game to the Houston Dynamo 2-1 in front of their home fans because of this.
Miami’s effort to enter the MLS Cup Playoffs may fall short due to Messi’s delayed comeback.
The club is currently in 13th place with 33 points, however they have a game up on the teams directly above them.
There are still four games left, and they can still make a run at the last playoff berth if they win all of them.
Their final two games are tomorrow (Friday) in Chicago and tomorrow (Saturday) at home versus Cincinnati. After the international break, the season finales for both Miami and Charlotte FC will be played.