“He leaves later than any other player,” David Beckham praises Lionel Messi’s professionalism at Inter Miami

The entire football world was shocked when Lionel Messi left Europe to play in the United States of America. He joined David Beckham’s Inter Miami, which the English icon claimed was an effort that took over 3 years. He has now been crowned as the Athlete of the Year by Time Magazine and David Beckham revealed how professional the Argentine has been. 

Talking to Time Magazine regarding Messi’s milestone, David Beckham revealed how Messi was always the first one to arrive in training and the last one to leave. he also spoke about the time the Argentine spoke with the academy kids, where he advised them to always walk during the match, as that would let them examine the match closely. 

From day one, Leo arrives early, and he leaves later than any other player. He’s the most professional player on our squad.

David Beckham on Lionel Messi

The Inter Miami owner also recounted how Messi’s goal in injury time won them a Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul. Messi converted a free kick in the 94th minute to ensure his club topped their group in the Leagues Cup. Returning home from the match, Beckham was in tears and asked his wife, Victoria Beckham, to drive as he wasn’t sure if he could. He said that goal couldn’t have been written better and added that it was essential for the future of Football in America.

Lionel Messi reveals he wanted to return to Barcelona 

While being interviewed by Time Magazine, Lionel Messi admitted that the move to Miami was not his first choice. He said the choice of moving to Miami was hard as he had various offers from various clubs. His first choice was to return to Catalunya to play for Barcelona, but due to their financial problems, it was not possible. 

Clubs from Saudi Arabia were also in the mix, and he was considering it as he is a tourism ambassador of the country and he had enjoyed his previous visits. He also acknowledged their effort to improve the standard of football in the country, referencing the league bringing in stars from Europe. 

Messi admitted that the final two choices were either a move to Saudi Arabia or a move to the MLS. In the end, he picked the MLS, where Inter Miami are paying him a whopping $20 million per year. Along with that, he was granted a stake in the club after he retired from professional football. American tech giant, Apple, was also paying the Argentine a share of their media revenues. 

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