David Beckham talks Lionel Messi joining Inter Miami, MLS

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham recently addressed international superstar Lionel Messi announcing last month he’ll join the Major League Soccer club this summer. 

“A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to about a million messages on my phone,” Beckham said at an event in north London, per Daniel Taylor of The Athletic. “I was thinking, ‘What’s gone off? I don’t usually get this many messages.’ All of a sudden, I hear Leo has come out and announced he’s coming to Miami. Obviously, it wasn’t a surprise to me.” 

As far back as the spring of 2021, Messi was linked with an eventual move to Inter Miami, but he admitted in June he “really wanted to return to” Barcelona but “did not want to be in the same situation” as what happened when the Catalan club couldn’t re-sign him due to financial issues two summers ago. Barcelona president Joan Laporta claimed earlier this week that the club could’ve registered Messi ahead of the upcoming season and said that the 36-year-old simply “wanted to have less pressure on his shoulders” by playing in MLS. 

“I have always said, from the word go, that if I had the opportunity to bring the best players in the game to Miami, at whatever time of their careers, I would do that,” Beckham continued. “I have always made that commitment to our fans. So when I hear that one of the best players—if not the best player—who has won everything in the game, who is still a great player, still young and still doing what he’s doing, wants to play for my team, it’s a massive moment for us.” 

Saudi Arabia reportedly was willing to pay over $500M a year to have Messi feature for club Al-Hilal, but he’ll instead earn between $50M and $60M per season with Inter Miami. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is expected to make his Miami debut against Mexican side Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup match on July 21.