David Beckham has met Lionel Messi.
U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami officially announced the signing of the “Greatest Of All Time” (GOAT) Messi on its website on Saturday (Aug. 16) under the headline “Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and FIFA World Cup champion Messi joins the club.
“Today we announce the signing of Messi, who is expected to join the team in the coming days and has signed a contract that runs through 2025,” Miami said. Jorge Mas, co-owner of Miami with Beckham, said: “We are honored to welcome Messi. In 2018, we promised to build an ambitious club that would attract the best players in the world. We are so grateful to our fans for their continued support. We will turn dreams into reality.”
“When I started my new team in Miami 10 years ago, I said I had a dream of bringing in the best players in the world,” Beckham said. Players who shared the ambition I had when I joined the LA Galaxy (as a player) helped me build a legacy in soccer for the next generation. Today that dream has come true. We are so proud to have a player like Messi join us. We are thrilled to welcome him to Miami and the next chapter begins here.”
On his American debut, Messi said: “I’m very excited to continue my career in Miami and the United States. This is a fantastic opportunity and a beautiful project to continue. I can’t wait to help the team achieve the goals we have set for ourselves.”
Messi was crowned world champion last summer. After being overshadowed by Pele and Diego Maradona on the international stage, Messi culminated in the 2021 CONMEBOL Copa America title and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
It was the culmination of a ‘four-for-five’ season. The GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) Messi was crowned champion at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after winning the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (quarterfinals or better), the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (runner-up), and the 2018 World Cup in Russia (round of 16).
The title didn’t come cheap. Messi announced his international retirement at the 2016 Copa America Centenario, after falling to his knees in the final against Chile. He was already a world-class player, but the weight and responsibility was too much to bear. He returned to the national team after the entire Argentine public urged him to do so, and six years later, he was back on top of the world.
However, controversy arose with his team. Messi had a falling out with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) over an unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia. There were even boos for Messi at the Parc des Princes. In the end, PSG and Messi parted ways last month without a contract extension. 토토사이트
Messi’s options were narrowed down to two destinations. Saudi Arabia, with its astronomical money, and Barcelona, his hometown team, with whom he could have a last dance in Europe.
First up was Saudi Arabia, where money was the main attraction. Uh.