Lionel Messi's Saudi woes highlight major flaw in David Beckham's Miami plan
Last June, David Beckham outlined his plan to turn Inter Miami into the New York Yankees of soccer.
"I want to create a brand like they have," said the Manchester United legend. "You see the Yankees hat and straight away you know what it is. I want people walking around in our baseball caps knowing that’s a Miami cap, that’s a Miami brand."
Beckham has gone a long way to achieving that, as Lionel Messi's jersey is by far the best-selling in Major League Soccer. But if Monday night's evidence is anything to go by, Miami will not become soccer's equivalent to the Yankees anytime soon.
Beckham's globetrotters were beaten 4-3 by Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal - the team Messi rejected to join Miami - in Riyadh. Despite boasting the talents of Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba - four of Barcelona's modern-day greats - Miami were always second best in the Riyadh Season Cup opener.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic, a striker who scored 14 goals in 24 Premier League games for Fulham last season, needed just 10 minutes to slot home the opener. Moments later, Abdullah Al-Hamdan made it 2-0 to the home favourites.
Suarez pulled a goal back for Miami - his first for the Americans - before Brazilian star Michael restored Al-Hilal's two-goal lead. Messi then levelled the game by scoring a penalty and setting up David Ruiz for the equaliser - all in the space of two minutes. But a late goal from Malcolm, another one of Al-Hilal's Brazilians, completed a 4-3 victory.
Lionel Messi and his team-mates lost against Al-Hilal on Monday night (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)Do you think David Beckham will turn Inter Miami into the United States' best soccer team? Let us know in the comments below!
Thanks to the influence of Messi and his former Barcelona colleagues, there's no doubting Miami's marketability. But there's more to the Yankees than money.
One of the main reasons why they are baseball's most marketable team is because they are the most successful. The Yankees have won a record 27 World Series titles, far more than any other team. Their closest challengers are the St Louis Cardinals, with 11 titles.
If Beckham truly wants to turn Miami into the Yankees of soccer, they've got to be as successful on the pitch as off it. And losing to Al-Hilal, who have attracted younger, hungrier stars from European leagues in recent times, is not a good sign.
Beckham's side will be keen to hit back in their next game, but that's won't be easy either. They face Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr in Riyadh on Thursday. It'll be fascinating to see how the next chapter in the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry plays out.
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