Inside David Beckham's Inter Miami revolution: The man who got Lionel Messi to MLS

It seems so long ago now, given all of the superstars MLS has seen in the years since: the Thierry Henrys, the Steven Gerrards, the David Villas, the Zlatan Ibrahimovics, the Kakas. Icons have come to North America in recent years, and that list now includes Messi, the biggest and latest arrival.

In July 2007, Beckham signed a five-year deal with the LA Galaxy, becoming the biggest player to move to North American shores since Pele in the NASL. The move ignited interest in MLS, selling out stadiums all over the country as the American public battled to get a glimpse of the ex-Real Madrid and Manchester United star.

The rules changed dramatically to facilitate Beckham's arrival, with the introduction of Designated Players leading to the signings of further illustrious names. But Beckham was the first and undoubtedly the biggest, as he shined an international spotlight on American soccer for the first time since the league's foundation in 1996.

"I'm not saying me coming over to the States is going to make soccer the biggest sport in America," he said all those years ago. "That would be difficult to achieve. Baseball, basketball, American football, they've been around. But I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could make a difference."

For the first time, the outside world heard about MLS, and perhaps even tuned in. In the years since, the Beckham model was the standard as teams fought to sign the biggest and best names at the tail end of their career. In the years since, MLS has moved away from that model, trending younger than ever before, but there's still no doubt of who started it all and who put MLS on the map: Beckham.

MLS moved heaven and earth to get Beckham to LA, changing the entire structure of the league to accommodate the English midfielder. But the most important thing the league offered him was a clause in his contract that would, eventually, lead to the formation of Inter Miami.

Upon signing his deal with the Galaxy in 2007, Beckham was given the option to purchase a future expansion team for just $25 million. And, in 2014, he announced his intention to do just that. By the time the team that became Inter Miami hit the field, expansion teams were going for hundreds of millions of dollars. Not a bad deal, it's fair to say.

Why Miami? For the league, the allure was obvious. Having previously failed in the market with the Miami Fusion, there was a desire to get things right once again in South Florida. The city is too big, too important and too culturally diverse to not be a hub for American soccer.

And, for Beckham, the allure was also obvious, as Miami is one city that could compete on the global stage alongside the likes of New York and Los Angeles. It has long been a vacation destination for many of Europe's top stars, and now Beckham's club would be the hottest ticket in town every summer. Miami, as it turns out, was the perfect place for Beckham, a player whose status off the field has always rivaled his skill on it.

Beckham originally partnered with Miami-based businessman Marcelo Claure, with Masayoshi Son and the Mas Brothers, Jorge and Jose, joining the group in 2017. In 2020, the club debuted and began play at what is now known as DRV Pink Stadium, with the club set to move to a new Miami Freedom Park stadium in 2025.

In 2021, Beckham and the Mas brothers bought out Claure and Son. As the team currently stands, Beckham very much remains the face of the ownership group and, after missing much of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, has taken on a more active role in team activities. The Mas brothers, though, have been more involved day-to-day and were certainly key players in this Messi saga.

When Inter Miami's plans became concrete in 2018, MLS commissioned a video of the world's biggest stars congratulating Beckham on a job well done. Among the stars listed in the video? Messi, who had a short, but important, message for his future boss.

“First of all congratulations," Messi said in the video. “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.”

That message was just the start of a years-long process linking the two sides. In the five years since that short video, Beckham and co. have fielded question after question about superstars and, notably, Messi, the player that the club always coveted most.

Last year, Jorge Mas confirmed as much, telling the Miami Herald: “Leo Messi is still one of the best players in the world, his skills have not diminished. I think, and David has a relationship with him, if he does leave Paris Saint-Germain, at the time he leaves it, we’d love to see Lionel Messi be a player at Inter Miami and be part of our community. Can it happen? Look, we’ll push. I’m an optimist at heart. Could I see that happening? It’s a possibility.”

Messi, meanwhile, made no secret of his desire to someday play in America. "I always said that I have the impression that I would like to enjoy the experience of living in the United States, of living in that league and that life," the Argentine told La Sexta back in 2020.

As his contract at PSG wound down, the years of flirtation finally turned into something serious, with the Mas brothers and Beckham all vital to sealing the deal.

While the flirtation went on for several years, things really began to heat up at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. While Messi was leading Argentina to glory, Jorge Mas was routinely meeting with the superstar's entourage, laying the groundwork for a potential move.

It wasn't the first time Mas had met with Messi's people. He previously attempted to orchestrate a deal when Messi left Barcelona but, due to the Argentine's desire to compete in Europe, he ended up at PSG. Miami took that as a delay, not a rejection, and remained in touch.

As Messi's PSG contract wore down, it became clear he had options. Barcelona was one, a fairytale return to the club where he made his name. Saudi Arabia was another, and certainly the best financially. And then there was Miami, a club that could offer a unique mixture: off-field comfort, on-field competitiveness and, of course, plenty of money.

In April, Beckham was photographed with Messi in Paris as he was visiting PSG's training ground. Beckham, of course, ended his career at PSG, and many wrote off that photo as a mere coincidence. As it turns out, though, it was a sign of things to come.

Inter Miami and MLS were, ultimately, blindsided by Messi's decision, according to Fox Sports. They knew it was possible, but it was Messi himself that revealed all, stating his intentions before even signing on the dotted line.

But, even though Messi has yet to officially sign an MLS contract, everyone involved has already benefited from the promise of his arrival, including, of course, Beckham.

In February, Forbes released their annual valuation of every MLS team. LAFC, fresh off their MLS Cup triumph, became the first American club to be worth more than $1 billion. Inter Miami, meanwhile, was the league's 11th-most valuable team, coming in at a valuation of around $600 million.

Well, the price has gone up for everyone now with Messi on board. MLS, its clubs, the Apple TV deal... everything is worth more than it was a week ago. And no entity has benefitted more than Inter Miami, who surely are around that $1bn mark now that they have the game's most iconic player on board.

The club has added millions of social media followers, making it one of the most followed clubs in American sports. Tickets across the league are doubling, tripling, quadrupling in price. The Argentine hasn't even arrived yet, but the Messi effect is very, very real.

Beckham, meanwhile, has profited most of all. He's parlayed an LA Galaxy move and a $25m entry fee into a club that is now worth likely more than 40 times that. Beckham was a hell of a player, but even better businessman as, with this Messi signing, the return on investment has surely skyrocketed.

When Inter Miami was formed, the club was expected to help guide MLS into a new era. For the first few years of the club's existence, that simply didn't happen, on or off the field. The club struggled to get results and, off the field, was punished for violating roster rules, making on-field success even more difficult to come by.

Now, though, the club has Messi, and that may only be the start. The combination of Messi, Beckham and Miami will certainly be an alluring one for players all over the world, even if MLS rules prevent the club from going as crazy as it would want to. Luis Suarez, Neymar, Antoine Griezmann, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Angel Di Maria... many big names have already been linked, and that's just the start.

Messi's arrival has solidified Miami's place as a global player. It has also helped Beckham realize his dream of building a true international powerhouse in MLS. When he signed that deal back in 2007, this is exactly the moment he would have dreamed of. This was the stated goal: luring the best players in the world to his club and building something in his image that could stand the test of time.

This is just the start, Beckham will hope. The aim will be to use Messi as a starting point, not an end result. Beckham's club is more relevant than ever before, but the challenge, in the years after Messi, will be keeping it there as the global landscape shifts.

Regardless, Beckham has gotten what he's wanted, at least so far. Messi, like Beckham before him, has changed the game. For the second time in his life, Beckham has shaken American soccer to its core, and nothing will be the same ever again.