David Beckham is on a quest to make Major League Soccer more popular in the United States. After leaving Europe to play for Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, Beckham has decided to buy into an MLS franchise in Miami.
Via USA Today
Beckham, who retired in 2013, announced Wednesday that he would be exercising his long-held option to buy into an MLS franchise in Miami, whose last pro soccer team, the Miami Fusion, disbanded in 2001.
“I’m going to work hard for this city and this team,” said Beckham, 39, dressed in a crisp grey suit in the wilting Miami humidity. “Everything I do is personal, and I want to make this my team.”
Beckham was joined for the announcement at the Perez Art Museum by MLS commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Both men have been in talks for months with Beckham and his financial partners, British entertainment mogul Simon Fuller and Bolivian billionaire Marcelo Claure.
MLS currently has 19 U.S. and Canadian teams, with two new franchises – Orlando City FC and New York City FC – set to join in 2015. The yet-to-be-named Miami franchise likely wouldn’t start competing until the 2016 season.
