For the last 20 years, Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been battling for greatness for years, and now they could be teammates if David Beckham gets his way
David Beckham is looking to make football history by teaming the greatest two players of a generation together. The ex-Man Utd star, who owns MLS side Inter Miami FC, is seemingly looking to partner his ex-teammate Cristiano Ronaldo alongside long-time rival Lionel Messi.
Messi has been starring for the MLS side for the last two years, and now Beckham appears to want to up the team’s star power. And it can only happen because Ronaldo’s future has been thrown into the spotlight following his controversial strike in Saudi Arabia.
The Portuguese superstar, who turned 41 last week, refused to feature for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr in their 1-0 triumph over Al-Riyadh last week after being incensed by Karim Benzema’s switch to championship contenders Al-Hilal.
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Benzema, who shared the pitch with Ronaldo at Real Madrid, saw his Al-Ittihad deal cancelled before securing a free move to Al-Hilal, who sit just one point ahead of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Saudi Pro League.
Yet all three sides fall under the ownership of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), leaving Ronaldo seething that the transfer was approved, as he believes Al-Hilal’s championship ambitions have been unfairly strengthened by landing the French forward.
And now it seems as if an MLS move could be on the cards, according to Spanish newspaper Fichajes.
They claim that while “the club knows that signing Cristiano Ronaldo is no easy task” due to financial considerations and his current contract are major obstacles, the club wants to sign the superstar because of the impact it would have on football in the country.
Despite not divulging sources, they state: “David Beckham understands football as a global spectacle. He has already convinced Lionel Messi , and he knows that the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo would be the perfect finishing touch to his project in the United States.
“Although he acknowledges that it is a very difficult operation, David Beckham remains hopeful and is not closing any doors.”
In 2022, Beckham first mused signing the star when he said: “Without a doubt, those are the type of players that we aspire to bring to our club. I think that the fans would really appreciate that. But, you know, as owners, we want players here that are driven, that want to win, and that’s our priority.
“Going forward, we also want to bring other players in if we have the opportunity to bring some great names in, you obviously mentioned Leo and Cristiano. They’ve been at the top of their game for the last 15 years because of hard work. Sir Alex Ferguson was a master at it.
“He didn’t always bring in the best player in the world. He didn’t always bring in the top player. He bought the right player for the club. And I think that that’s the one thing that I take into our club, is the player has to be right.”
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