After almost a decade of setbacks, David Beckham's vision of making Miami a soccer town is close to becoming a reality, thanks to the possible addition of Lionel Messi to his Inter Miami team. Beckham, a former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, began working on establishing Inter Miami with partners in 2014, as part of the deal he negotiated with Major League Soccer when he left Real Madrid in 2007 to join the LA Galaxy. The club was worth $585 million as of last year, according to Sportico, making it the 10th-most valuable MLS franchise.
However, beyond the potential sporting benefits, attracting a player of Messi's caliber to the US would also be a significant boost for the value of the franchise. Steve Davis, a soccer writer and broadcast analyst for FC Dallas, said, "Beckham was big and Messi is bigger. Messi’s arrival will add a lot of value to the media deals, the individual clubs, it adds value in player acquisition."
To make the transfer happen, Beckham benefited from the support of powerful allies. Adidas and Apple have reportedly offered profit-sharing agreements to Messi for Inter Miami in a bid to recoup lost market share in the US to Nike Inc. The media firm, in particular, recently signed a $2.5 billion 10-year agreement with Major League Soccer to show games on its TV+ platform, following the successful debut of its soccer-themed show, Ted Lasso.
Moreover, if Messi were to join Inter Miami, it could represent a turning point for Beckham and the franchise, which recently fired its head coach, Phil Neville, with the club sitting at the bottom of MLS's Eastern Conference. Additionally, Beckham and his partners successfully lobbied Miami's city commissioners to agree to a 99-year lease to redevelop a city-owned country club into a privately-financed property that would include a soccer stadium, hotel, office park, retail space, and public park.
While Inter Miami's current home at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, hardly compares to the likes of Barcelona's Camp Nou, the enthusiasm for the sport in Miami may be about to explode with the arrival of one of the greatest players of all time. As Davis said, "There’s no better chance to develop a love for Major League Soccer than now, because they’ll have the greatest player of all time playing in Miami."