Manchester United legend David Beckham became part owner of Inter Miami in 2021 with Inter Miami looking to become a Major League Soccer (MLS) powerhouse.
Beckham began his American venture in 2007, when he shocked the world by signing for the LA Galaxy after his Real Madrid contract expired.
He took a significant pay cut to seal the transfer, but had a unique ownership clause inserted into his contract. The former Los Merengues winger was able to buy an expansion club for just 25 million dollars as a result of the aforementioned clause. He’d foresaw growth potentials for football in the region and negotiated an option to own an expansion team at a discounted franchise fee.
On September 17, 2021, it was announced that Beckham and the Mas brothers had bought out Claure and Son’s stakes in the ownership of Inter Miami.
The iconic midfielder is now chairman and co-owner of the club which began competing in the MLS in 2020.
Argentina legend, and seven times Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is now expected to join the American side Inter Miami after his exit from French champions Paris St-Germain.
The former Barcelona forward is set to reject more lucrative offers from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
The Miami deal includes collaboration from brands like Adidas and Apple.
Messi is said to have wanted to remain in Europe for another season but, after no satisfactory offers were received, he was left with a choice between Inter Miami or Al-Hilal.
The footballing legend was heavily tipped to be favouring a move to Saudi Arabia, where he would have joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in the league in a deal that could not be matched financially.
But Messi was eventually enticed to MLS side Inter Miami for a variety of reasons including lifestyle and deals with big brands that extends beyond football.
The player had considered a return to his long term club Barcelona but the idea fell flat due to Barcelona’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) limitations.