MIAMI — David Beckham and Jorge Mas were still glowing after watching Lionel Messi’s first Inter Miami open media training session Tuesday morning. The club’s co-owners, along with Mas’ brother Jose, worked tirelessly for more than three years to bring the world’s best player to their team, and like most people, they were still processing the fact that he was on the field practicing.
Afterward, in an interview with the Miami Herald, Beckham and Mas shared the latest news on upcoming signings, the possibility of playing a potential U.S. Open Cup final at Hard Rock Stadium, their expectations of Messi and adjustments he will have to make to adapt to MLS.
First the news, per Mas.
Jordi Alba, the third of the former FC Barcelona players “Should be signed today.” The left back will be reunited with Messi and Busquets. He was unable to attend Sunday’s “Unveil” ceremony because his wife is expecting their third child any day.
Diego Gomez, the 20-year-old Paraguayan midfielder? “He’s arriving at training facility [Tuesday].”
Facundo Farias, the 20-year-old Argentine midfield wonderkid? “We have a verbal agreement, hopefully they’ll get finalized as soon as possible.”
Ex-Barcelona and Uruguay star Luis Suarez, who is reportedly seeking an exit from Brazilian club Gremio? “He’s a Gremio player.” But is there really a chance Miami could land Suarez, a close friend of Messi’s? “He’s a Gremio player.”
It seems implausible that Suarez could join the team under the current roster rules, which allow only three “designated players” to exceed the salary budget limit. But Mas on Tuesday and MLS commissioner Don Garber on Sunday both hinted that league rules could soon be relaxed. The MLS Board of Governors meets Wednesday in Washington, D.C. and simplifying the rules is on the agenda.
“I think it’s incumbent upon ourselves and our fellow owners to seize this opportunity and seize this moment,” Mas said. “It’s all of our aspirations to see an evolution of Major League Soccer rules in order to be able to bring the best players in the world into our league. There a need for more flexibility in the roster? I have been outspoken [on this]. I do think that there has to be an existing responsible salary cap in the league. But I think that all of us together will take advantage of this opportunity, and try to simplify the rules, in terms of bringing young players.
“I do think that over the next six months, you will probably see some incremental changes to our rules. Over the course of the last four weeks, David and I have fielded calls from very, very good players wanting to come not Inter Miami but other teams in the league, and it is extremely difficult given our rules. It has nothing to do with money.”
Mas also shared that he has been in talks with Hard Rock Stadium officials, including Dolphins and stadium president and CEO Tom Garfinkel, about the possibility of playing select games there. DRV PNK Stadium seats 22,000 and Hard Rock capacity is 75,000, so it makes sense.
“We’re open to that, if we can reach the U.S. Open Cup final, I think Hard Rock could be a possibility,” Mas said. “Hopefully that opportunity arises. I have a very good relationship with Tom, and if we have an opportunity to play for Cup finals or other types of games, we’d be open to do that because the demand for our tickets has been extraordinary.”
Global interest in Messi’s arrival to Inter Miami has been so overwhelming that team owners anticipate an overseas team tour for exhibition games.
“I would foresee [a foreign tour] in our preseason or postseason,” Mas said. “I do think that you will see inter Miami at some point, you know, traveling for overseas games.”
Beckham is uniquely qualified to understand what Messi is going through right now, on and off the field. Beckham also arrived to MLS as a global icon when he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. He knows the adjustments Messi will have to make to fit in with the playing style and deal with the outside demands such as media, which expects to interact more with athletes than they do in other countries.
“Firstly, we see we both see a very happy and content Leo Messi so far,” Beckham said. “We see a human being that does do his own grocery shopping, that does go out for dinner, that does spend time with his family, so to have him and his family here is a beautiful moment for us. The adjustment will be this: When I arrived in L.A. in 2007, all of a sudden people thought they’re going to win every game. They’re going to win every championship every year, and it doesn’t happen like that. You know, we have to be patient.”
Beckham cautioned that Messi alone cannot turn around the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, a team on an 11-game winless streak.
“We have to be able to give Leo and Sergio [Busquets] and Jordi the opportunity to ease into this because there is going to be some adjustment,” Beckham said. “Sergio only landed two days ago, so his time clock is all over the place at the moment. But Leo’s been here. I’ve been here every day at the training facility with him. I see what he’s like physically. I see what he’s like mentally. This is a player that he’s coming here and he’s hungry. He’s hungry to win.”
Beckham added that Messi wants to win trophies, but also wants to “leave a legacy” and elevate the league.
“He wants to inspire the next generation in a different country and the eyes of the world, not just America, are on MLS and on Miami,” Beckham said. “That is a huge moment. To take this sport to another level it needed something like this and the fact that now Leo has come to us and he’s going to play in this league, that is a big statement.”
The key to Inter Miami’s turnaround, the owners said, is surrounding Messi with the right supporting cast.
“We always spoke about if we bring Leo to this team, we surround him with the right players and the right people and also make sure he’s happy not just on the field but off the field as well,” Beckham said, and Busquets was the first building block. “That goes for Sergio, too. He is one of the most complete midfielders of our generation.”
“When I played in 2007, for the first two seasons it was very difficult, but once Bruce Arena arrived and he surrounded me with the right players and called new players like Juninho in the midfield, Omar Gonzalez in the back, and then bring in Robbie Keane to be with me and Landon [Donovan] … that was it. We felt it as a team, and I became a lot more comfortable and that’s what we’ve done here. You know, bringing Jordi in, a familiar face, bringing Sergio… I’ve seen them on the training ground today, the first time Leo and Sergio have trained out there with the team. You’ve got Leo talking to the young players, the academy players, telling them what to do, where to run, when to pass. That’s what we envisioned for our club to inspire our academy players and to see that today was quite an emotional moment for me.”
So, when did the owners know Messi was truly coming? When was the moment? They said it was a week before his June 7 public announcement, when Messi’s father called Mas and told him the decision was made. Beckham was in Japan when Mas called with the news.
“It was really early, and I woke up for some reason, and obviously the phone was ringing, too,” Beckham said, smiling. “Victoria [his wife] looked at me thinking `Really? A phone call at 6 a.m.?’ But it was best phone call I’ve had for a long time. Obviously, we’ve always had big ambitions. We’re ambitious people. We had to have patience with this.
“The real the moment for me was when he landed 100 yards away [pointing to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport], walked off the plane with his family and was here. That was the moment where we were like, `OK, we did it.’ ”
