Inter Miami, Beckham and Florida: where does Lionel Messi set foot?

Finally, the point of departure will not be Saudi Arabia and its gigantic contract of 400 million euros per season, even less FC Barcelona and a love story that ends definitively, but Inter Miami and the sun of Florida. Lionel Messi dribbled past everyone on Wednesday night announcing his arrival in David Beckham's franchise as the American track seemed to be left behind in recent days. At almost 36 years old (June 24), the Argentinian world champion is getting closer to his country, offering an idyllic family life to his wife and children and laying the first stone for the 2026 World Cup which will take place …in the United States, Mexico and Canada. But in what context does the seven-time Ballon d'Or arrive at Inter Milan? Presentation.

It's good to live in Miami, the sun is shining, the sports disciplines are multiple and the franchises to support also between the Miami Heat in basketball, the Marlins in baseball, the Dolphins in American football or the Florida Panthers in ice hockey. …and Inter Miami in football since 2020. Announced as a new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise in 2018 and officially onboarded two years later, Inter Miami had to build from the ground up and attract fans to try to become the attraction of the city. Sacred challenge far from being met today. In terms of details, this goes through the logo (a coat of arms that respects the Art Deco style dear to Miami), the emblem (the heron, a migratory bird that represents the different communities living in "Magic City") and the main color of the club (pink like the sky when the sun sets over the city). Even the name of the franchise is not chosen at random, it sounds South American to speak to the large Hispanic population of the city. Which earned a legal battle with Inter Milan, unhappy to see the same name exist on the American continent.

In terms of infrastructure, the site is huge with a new stadium project that is struggling to see the light of day. Despite a training center worthy of high European standards, the Florida club has still not built its Miami Freedom Park, a 26,000-seat enclosure part of a substantial real estate project with offices and a luxury hotel. Inter Miami should have moved to Overtown instead of a golf course, but the site turned out to be heavily polluted. For now, it is at Lockhart Stadium, renamed Drive Pink Stadium, that David Beckham's band is playing. An 18,000-seat stadium destroyed and then rebuilt in a bit of a disaster while waiting to find something better. Yet managed by the English legend, the Miami soccer club remains so far below the others, sportingly and in the media. But with Lionel Messi, it will no longer be the same story. Normally.

Inter Miami is David Beckham. Nothing else. Or so little. Until the coat of arms where we see in the background a solar eclipse with seven rays in tribute to the legendary number he often wore as a professional player at Manchester United in particular. The 48-year-old Englishman is the club's gondola head. Between media outlets and sporting and extra-sporting contacts with his gigantic address book, Beckham intends to take off sportingly and financially his baby after a little more than three years of existence. The arrival of Messi, whom he met during his visit to the capital at the end of April, is his greatest success. After leaving the green rectangle in 2013 in tears under the ovations at PSG, the husband of Victoria, a former member of the Spice Girls, found MLS in a very different role. LA Galaxy player from 2007 to 2012, the magic right-footed midfielder restored the appeal of the American League Open in 1993. He even became the first footballer to have his statue in the United States in 2019 in front of the stadium. Los Angeles Galaxy. In 2007 when he arrived on the American continent, the Briton negotiated with US leaders the possibility of creating a franchise for “ only” 25 million dollars instead of 150. Nothing is refused to the British legend… In January 2019 , he puts on the costume of the big boss for the first time in Florida. The charm operates and the figures take off in terms of ticket prices, follow-ups on social networks or sponsorship contracts. Difficult to find a better ambassador on the international scene than the former Red Devils. On the field, the most difficult task for Beckham was to put together a team from scratch. Despite wild rumors the first year, the Briton failed to attract any real big names until 2020 and the arrivals of Frenchman Blaise Matuidi and Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain.

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If Messi has always played the leading roles in the league with PSG or Barça, in Miami it is a real change of scenery that awaits the Pulga. The men in pink are bottom of the Eastern Conference and 27th of 29 overall. The herons are far from the play-offs they reached during the best season in their history in 2022 with a 6th place. For good reason, the squad is not a dream with Venezuelan top scorer Josef Martinez (3 goals in 14 games) and Frenchman Corentin Jean (ex-Toulouse, Lens, Troyes, Monaco) in "headlining". If Inter Miami was able to take advantage of Matuidi and Higuain for two years, the Florida club had to revise its recruitment downwards after receiving a record fine of 2 million dollars in 2021 for not having respected the salary conditions of the championship. The only good sporting news for Messi is that he doesn't risk relegation since MLS is a closed league. The end of the regular season is scheduled for October, and even with the world champion, it's hard to imagine Miami competing for the title in the play-off. Still, Lionel Messi is expected in July in Florida. For the magic to work.