Lionel Messi has invited a call from David Beckham’s new Miami MLS franchise, but plans to remain at Barcelona for “a few years” yet.
Manchester United and Real Madrid legend Beckham announced Monday that his new expansion team is finally ready to be launched.
The plan is for his franchise to make its Major League Soccer bow in 2020, with a soccer-specific stadium scheduled to be opened the following year.
Beckham has expressed a desire to bring star names to Miami, with a number of “top players” having already contacted him regarding a possible switch.
Messi could join the project at some stage, with the mercurial Argentine among those to have congratulated the team behind a Florida-based venture.
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In a message posted on social media, the 30-year-old forward said: “First of all congratulations.
“I wanted to wish you all the best in this new project, this new role for you.
“Who knows, maybe in a few years you can give me a ring.”
Leo Messi felicitó a David Beckham por su nueva franquicia en la MLS y ¿se viene un llamado de emergencia baby desde Estados Unidos? pic.twitter.com/xz0H5fZgsf
— Pasión Fútbol (@PasionFutbolFC) January 30, 2018
Any deal for Messi remains some way off for now, with his current contract at Barcelona set to keep him at Camp Nou until at least 2021.
That agreement includes a £626 million release clause, with those in Catalunya eager to ensure that a prized asset does not head the same way as Neymar did in the summer of 2017 – when Paris Saint-Germain stumped up €222m to secure his signature.
Beckham, though, is likely to remain an interested observer of Messi’s situation.
He could end up forming part of a star-studded regime in Miami further down the line, with Hollywood actor Will Smith having already offered his assistance behind the scenes and eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt suggesting that he could fill a striking berth on the field.
