Recently, former Man United star David Beckham admitted that he still feels “surreal” witnessing Messi donning pink and playing for Inter Miami.
When asked how it felt to be Messi’s boss, Beckham told the Smartless podcast: “I can’t even look at it that way, I just can’t! I just can’t.”
He added: “It’s unbelievable [bringing Messi to Miami]. And I still can’t believe it. Every time someone turns to me and says, ‘You’ve got Messi on your team, do you realize that?’, it’s strange to think that we have the greatest player to ever play the game, the most successful player in history playing for Inter Miami in the MLS.”
Since Messi’s arrival, he has been playing with outstanding form, carrying Inter Miami and especially helping Beckham’s team soar high in the MLS standings this season. The 36-year-old striker has scored 10 goals and provided 9 assists in just 12 matches.
David Beckham and the co-owners of Inter Miami are hopeful to see Messi lead the team to multiple victories again, to help the Lockhart Stadium-based team lift the MLS Cup in the 2024 season, with their next challenge being a visit to Canada to face the Vancouver Whitecaps in the upcoming round this weekend.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Beckham helped lure the Argentine icon to the United States after he left Paris Saint-Germain in June last year. The ex-Barcelona star has been a sensation in MLS and former Manchester United star Beckham admits that it still feels “surreal” having the attacker in the team.
GettyWHAT BECKHAM SAID
Asked what it’s like to be Messi’s boss, Beckham told the Smartless podcast: “I can’t look at it like that, I can’t! I just can’t.”
He added: “It felt unbelievable [bringing Messi to Miami]. And I still can’t believe it. Every time someone turns around to me and says: ‘You have Messi on your team, you realize that, don’t you?,’ it really is surreal to say that we have probably the greatest player to have ever played the game, the most successful player to have ever played the game, and he’s playing in Miami in the MLS.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Messi has been awesome for Inter Miami this season. The 36-year-old has scored 10 goals in MLS and assisted a further nine to help lift the Herons to the top of the Eastern Conference. He also struck twice and set up two in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, though they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage.
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USA Today ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?
Beckham and his fellow Inter Miami directors will hope to see Messi lead Tata Martino’s team to victory again when they travel to Canada to face Vancouver Whitecaps in their next MLS match at the weekend.