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'We snuck into a hotel, met Jorge Messi and started the conversation,' Beckham explained. 'It purely went, "We would love your son to play for our team one day. We know he can’t come yet, but one day we would love to have Leo in Miami".'
Beckham compared Messi's move to his own transfer when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007, and feels the Argentine is fully committed to Inter Miami's long-term project.
'When I made the move, I was 32 and had come from Real Madrid. I got criticism because I was going to a league that had 13, 14 teams and only six stadiums that were soccer-specific. A few people of a high level did hit out, but I was ready for the challenge,' Beckham added.
'People were saying, "You’re chancing this". For me, it was never about that. I’ve always loved America, loved the opportunity America bought to the world and loved the scale.
'I always thought if I could ever live in America and do something that was going to change the face of the game here — and bring what I knew from Europe to this part of the world — I want to be part of that.
'I’m not saying it was solely down to me because it wasn’t. There were an incredible amount of people that did incredible jobs to bring me to LA when the league was struggling, but they had the vision and commitment.
'I think Leo had seen that and thought, "OK, this is an opportunity". He also saw that this is a long-term project. If we lost our first two games with Leo, I’m not worried about that. I want to win. Leo wants to win. Jose and Jorge (Mas) want us to win.
'But more importantly, this is a long-term project. That’s how I’ve always seen it. It’s how Leo sees it.'