MLS boss claims David Beckham's Inter Miami bought their fanbase with Lionel Messi arrival
David Beckham has been told that Inter Miami artificially bought their fanbase with the acquisition of Lionel Messi.
Larry Freedman, co-president of MLS rivals LAFC, says his club was built on foundations laid in the local community in Los Angeles, whereas Beckham needed to ‘get the guy’ to build support for his Miami project.
Freedman and his co-founders spent the years before their formation touring LA pubs, asking local people what they wanted in a football club. Their findings created the basis for the MLS’s great disruptors.
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“The difference between us and Miami is that we built this community,” Freedman says. “We knew we weren’t going to play until 2018, so we had the luxury of a ton of time, which allowed us to just get out into the community and go pub by pub and meet people.
“Our approach was: tell us why you love the game, and do you have a club? Why is that your club? What about that is important to you?
“If we were building a club here, what would you like it to look like? What would you like it to be about? How would you want it to show up so you would be a part of it? From that, we were able to build a business where we had a strong partnership portfolio with corporates.
“We have a strong season ticket holder base. We have a very strong and good relationship with our independent supporters’ union. Miami had none of that until they went and got the guy.”
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Despite community roots, LAFC have dabbled in the big-name market. Gareth Bale was first, then Giorgio Chiellini and Olivier Giroud, among others. But nobody has garnered them attention like ex-Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min has.
“I didn’t realize this until he was actually here. His agents told us, like, you’ve never had a star like this,” Freedman says. “Sonny is completely next level. Now we’re getting exposure and interest from pockets of Los Angeles and internationally that we didn’t have before.
“There’s a good level of interest because this guy was at Tottenham for a decade, went out on a high with the trophy, was the captain.”
Since joining LAFC in August 2025, the South Korea captain has made 34 appearances, finding the back of the net on 14 occasions and assisting a further 20 goals for the Black and Gold. He also played a pivotal part in LAFC reaching the playoff quarter finals in 2025, where they ultimately lost to Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps – who went on to lose the final to Miami.
