David Beckham explains why Lionel Messi chose Inter Miami over Saudi Arabia

Lionel Messi has become the biggest star in the MLS with spectacular performances for Inter Miami. In the 2024 season, the Argentine legend has 10 goals and 12 assists.

Furthermore, thanks to the arrival of Luis Suarez, The Herons are contenders to hoist the trophy as the best team of the Eastern Conference. Last year, the initial step was to win the first title in franchise history with the Leagues Cup. Now, they want to conquer Major League Soccer.

In the middle of this amazing process of transformation, David Beckham revealed how bringing Messi to the MLS became almost an obsession for him as an executive.

“Leo, he turned around to me many years ago and said. ‘I love Miami. One day, I want to live in Miami.’ And it stuck in my head. I thought, I’m going to make that happen one day. If we ever get a chance to bring a player like him and his caliber to Miami, then, that’s what I want to do.”

David Beckham revealed how he convinced Lionel Messi to sign for Inter Miami (Getty Images)

Why Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami?

David Beckham also explained new details about how he convinced Lionel Messi to sign with Inter Miami. In fact, the former star of Manchester United had already warned Leo’s dad about the possible move.

“It took a lot of time. We started the process four or five years before he came. I sneaked into his dad’s hotel and said to him: ‘I want to sign your son. I know he won’t come now, but at some point, we want to bring him to Miami.'”

Beckham also admitted that Saudi Arabia was a huge temptation for Messi considering the massive contracts offered there and the arrival of stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

“Then, all of a sudden, he decides to come. I actually cannot believe it. A lot of players were wanting to go and going to Saudi Arabia at the time. He had a lot of offers obviously on the table. But he is very clever. He knows what massive market the US is. The opportunities that you can have. I think he also saw the life that me, the kids and my wife have in LA.”

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