David Beckham is aiming to bring the world’s top players to Miami after taking up the option to buy a new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise but key details about the project are still unconfirmed.
The former England and Manchester United midfielder said he planned to make the new team a globally-recognised club though the home stadium, start date and name of the club are still not known.
Beckham told a news conference in Miami: “We are going to make a soccer club that is going to be loved by millions of people – we plan on bringing a team that is not just for Miami but is a global team.
“We will want to bring in some of the best players in football to play in this team – I have seen what happens to a team when you bring great players in.
“We want the best. Fortunately, I have played with some of the greatest players in the world, and these players have been sending me messages and calling me up and saying ‘Miami, great – when can we get there’.”
Beckham’s group is now in talks with Miami local government officials about building a stadium for the new club, but he insisted no public money would be needed.
He said: “We don’t want public money, we will fund the stadium ourselves, it is something that we have worked very hard on.
“Nothing successful in life is easy, there are going to be bumps along the way and you have to go through certain tough times to come out at the end being successful.
“We are going to have the right investors, and I’m not just talking about wealth but people who have a passion for the game as well.”
Beckham said he would not be making an approaches to his former manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, to coach his team.
He added: “He is a great manager and gave me the chance to play for my boyhood dream club, but unfortunately he has retired so we won’t pull him out of retirement, I think he is enjoying that.”
Beckham was given an option to acquire an MLS franchise at a discounted rate of USD$25million (Dh91.8m) when he first joined Los Angeles Galaxy.
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