David Beckham has revealed how he managed to convince Lionel Messi to sign for Inter Miami and how he felt about it.
The Argentine star was also linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, but he turned down the hefty salary there in order to move to America.
“I never thought I would have the same feeling as an owner as I did when I was a player,” Beckham told The Athletic when he received the news that Messi had decided to join Inter Miami.
“When I got the call, I had the feeling I get when I go out to Old Trafford or Wembley. I was like, ‘We just beat out all the competition to sign the greatest player to ever play our game.'”
“It all came from a conversation at a dinner party, while we were having a glass of wine. I turn to Jorge (Lionel Messi’s father) and say, ‘One day, we need Messi to come to our club’. Maybe it was when we first met. That was 10 years ago. So it was always on my mind.”
Beckham revealed a secret meeting the pair had in Barcelona in September 2019: “We got on a plane and flew to Barcelona from London secretly. We got into a hotel, met Jorge Messi and started talking”.
“We would love for your son to play for our team one day. We know he can’t come yet, but one day we would love to have Leo in Miami.”
“By creating a narrative about what he could do for the sport in this country, what he could do for MLS and what he could do for Inter Miami, we had a positive signal afterwards,” added Beckham.