David Beckham isn’t messing around when it comes to his potential MLS franchise.
Beckham’s Miami-based expansion team hasn’t yet been officially announced, but stadium plans have been approved by MLS. Yet the former L.A. Galaxy star is already setting his sights at bringing in one of soccer’s best talents to South Beach, as Beckham hopes to land Paris St-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Beckham played with Ibrahimovic at PSG before announcing his retirement in 2013. He told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet if Ibrahimovic is still active when a Miami franchise is ready, he wants to buy him “right away.”
“If Ibrahimovic is still active, then I want to buy him right away. He is a physically magnificent specimen, so it’s entirely possible. Who does not want a man who is prepared to kill to win?”
The 34-year-old Swede finishes his contract with PSG at season’s end, and there’s speculation he could return to AC Milan. He’s enjoying another dynamite season in Ligue 1, scoring 17 times this season, including this beauty against Stade Malherbe Caen on Saturday.
Goal of the weekend belongs to the one and only Zlatan. pic.twitter.com/pImb6F5KZE
— SportingMatrix (@Sporting_Matrix) December 21, 2015
Beckham says he’s played among soccer’s elite, and told Aftonbladet he’s never met anybody who takes the game as seriously as Ibrahimovic.
“I’ve played with or against the very best in the world,” Beckham said. “I want to say that I have never met anyone who was so serious during both practice and games. When I came to Paris I knew that he was an incomparable talent as a player, but he’d be so tough and merciless on himself at all times, I had no idea.”
The possibility of a Miami franchise landing Zlatan is still years away, but Beckham is already planting seeds and trying to make the necessary moves to land the big fish. Time will tell if his public fawning will pay dividends.
