MLS Soccer Miami Franchise Confirmed By David Beckham: Is The Florida City Ready?

Though the deal has yet to be finalized, former Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder David Beckham confirmed that he will purchase a Major League Soccer franchise, with the club's home located in Miami, Florida. Exercising his option to purchase an expansion club, the now-retired Beckham will wait to secure a stadium and financial plan before finalizing the purchase. The idea of Beckham backing a Miami MLS franchise has become a hot topic of conversation in recent months but after concluding a long period of negotiations, the former England captain said he's happy to announce the news while also noting that the new organization will fund the stadium entirely on their own.

“This is an exciting time, and something we're really looking forward to bringing to Miami,” he said. “We don't want public funding. We will fund the stadium ourselves. We have worked very hard to get to this stage where we can fund the stadium ourselves. We want to create a football club that is the people's football club. We can't build a stadium in six months but once we have a site, once we work with the mayor and the commissioners of Miami we will be pretty quick. I want to make my own team and I know this city is ready for football and this is going to be successful.”

Continuing to look for franchise investors, Beckham has been in talks with Miami Heat star and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James, who was in total support of bringing an MLS club to the city of Miami. The two-time NBA champion is currently a minority shareholder in Barclays Premier League club Liverpool but since he's become close friends with David Beckham and is highly interested in expanding professional sports in Miami, James said that interest between himself and the new team certainly exists.

“David has become a good friend of mine over the last few years, and I think it would be great for this city to have a football club for sure,” James said. “There's interest on both sides. It's preliminary talks but there is some open dialogue. I've grown a great interest in watching the game ... it's a pretty intense sport and my kids love it as well. I've grown to the point where I know exactly what's going on when I'm watching the game.”