'A wonderful miracle' - how Messi & Beckham made Miami shine

When David Beckham chose Miami as the location for the Major League Soccer team he intended to set up in 2013, no-one could have predicted what was to follow.

After purchasing the US franchise for a discounted £15.6m from MLS - part of a financial package he negotiated when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007 as a player - the former England skipper officially launched the club in 2018, before they made their MLS debut in March 2020.

Now, having signed arguably the world's greatest player Lionel Messi in 2023, Inter Miami are on the brink of winning the league's greatest prize when they play Thomas Muller's Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final on Saturday.

Success would cap an exponential rise for 'Project Beckham' both on and off the field as Miami have provided a huge surge of interest in football across America.

Chief business officer Xavi Asensi described the role of co-owner Beckham as "amazing".

"Without David Beckham none of us would be sitting here. Everything ended up being possible," he said. "There aren't names as global as David Beckham and Leo Messi - they are combined here."

Now 43, Asensi joined Inter Miami in April 2021 following 10 years with Barcelona where he served as chief commercial officer as well as being a member of the club's executive board.

"When we arrived here in 2020-21 with owners Jorge Mas, [his brother] Jose Mas and David Beckham in charge, the main goal was to win on the pitch," he said.

"I would say Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time, subjectively and objectively. So obviously having the best player possible in your roster is a no-brainer.

"This is what we've been trying to do from the very beginning. Not just bring in big-name players, but bring in the best players possible so the team on the pitch is something we can be proud of - and one that wins."

On 7 June 2023, after weeks of speculation about his next move, Inter Miami announced the signing of Messi, completing a five-year courtship.

The Rosario-born Argentina star chose the challenge of Miami and MLS after two seasons at Paris St-Germain, where he won two Ligue 1 titles and a Super Cup.

Beckham was in Japan when the deal was done, waking at 5am to a flood of notifications - wife Victoria told him to turn his phone off, but he checked it, saw the news and burst into tears.

"Overnight we went from being an MLS club to a club that I would say everybody knew," Asensi recalls.

"Every outlet in the world, everyone talked about it. Crazy. From Fiji to Anchorage, Patagonia to Mongolia, it put Inter Miami into the big time."

In Miami, Messi reunited on the pitch with old Barca team-mates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and later Luis Suarez, and coach Gerardo Martino who had managed him at Barcelona and with Argentina.

He later extended his deal to stay at Inter Miami until December 2028. Reports suggest he earns between £37m and £45m from the club, with Adidas boosting his income through shirt sales and Apple providing a share of MLS Season Pass subscription revenue.

Asensi explains: "We're talking about the number one sport in the world, and the US economically is the number one country in the world.

"It's the biggest market, and the king of sports entertainment. So it's a bit strange that its professional league in the world's biggest sport isn't at that level, or that the national team isn't competing."

The MLS suddenly became part of the global football conversation, with almost every Inter Miami game sold out immediately.

Presence on their social media went from about two million to the 50 million it is today.

Average MLS crowds went up by about 20% after Messi's debut and global streaming doubled during his first 10 matches.

Just as importantly the league ceased to be a minor curiosity and became an essential part of daily sports bulletins. Americans were finally taking their football seriously.

In a system of dynamic pricing, tickets soared. Prices pre-Messi were about £40, while today they are between £150 and £200 to see Miami in action.

Sides hosting Inter Miami and Messi would change their home venue in order to keep up with demand.

On April 19, Columbus Crew moved their home fixture against Inter Miami from their Lower.com Field Stadium in Columbus (capacity 20,371) to the Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland (capacity 60,614), home of the Cleveland Browns NFL side 150 miles north of Columbus.

It was a sellout, a single-game record for a Crew home match and the largest non-NFL event in the stadium's history.

Annual club revenue grew from £41m in 2022 to £160m in 2024.

The 'Messi effect' propelled the league to a record attendance of more than 11.4 million fans in 2023-24.

His debut helped generate 300,000 new MLS Season Pass subscribers on Apple TV, doubling its base. Messi's number 10 jersey was the league's top seller, and merchandise sales grew by 41%.

The impact was also felt by other clubs, who generated an additional £63m in ticket sales by hosting Inter Miami. Furthermore, the average ticket price increased by 1,700%, with gate receipts reaching £198m.

Asensi explains: "Leo is going to be irreplaceable. There will be nobody that will be able to fill those shoes. We are trying to build that legacy to be a magnet for other good players to come."

Other initiatives to attract and develop emerging players are also in place, such as the Dreams Cup - a platform for young talent alongside the Inter Miami foundation to support youth football.

A steady flow of sporting icons, pop celebrities and global influencers has helped establish Inter Miami as both a cultural and sporting brand, turning the club into a meeting point for the great and the good from beyond football.

Will Smith might be seen alongside Floyd Mayweather, Tom Brady or Aryna Sabalenka; Lionel Richie - whom Messi was named after - could be chatting with LeBron James, Kim Kardashian or Eva Longoria, while Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos might be reminiscing about old glories with Serena Williams.

Beckham quickly realised how deeply the colour pink runs through Miami's visual identity, from Art Deco buildings and neon signs to flamingos and pastel coastlines.

Despite strong resistance at first, he believed pink should be Inter Miami's defining colour - and ultimately won the argument.

Beckham helped create a brand that feels 'Miami'. The fully pink identity makes the club instantly recognisable.

Up until a week ago Inter Miami had won two titles - the 2023 Leagues Cup and the 2024 Supporters' Shield, going from last place to champions in just one year.

The biggest success to date was thrashing New York City 5-1 in the Eastern Conference play-off final last Saturday, setting up this weekend's MLS Cup final against the Whitecaps.

With their new stadium nearing completion, Inter Miami will play most of the 2026 MLS campaign at Miami Freedom Park.

Since joining MLS in 2020, the club have played at the 21,500-seat Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. They will start next season with five away games to allow construction to be finished.

With the new stadium, the rise of the club could reach stratospheric figures: Asensi says that from having a budget of £160m ($215m) this season, "we are hoping to go above a quarter of a billion dollars" in income in the next few years.

"All in all, I would say that it's a miracle," says Asensi. "It's a wonderful miracle - it is daring and a dream. From ownership to everyone that is here in the club, we are really blessed to be part of it.

"We are five years old, we are creating history, we are living history as we are speaking. So having Lionel playing and being our captain changed us completely."