David Beckham has revealed how he managed to sign Lionel for Inter Miami. The 36-year-old forward was heavily linked with some of the world's biggest clubs in the summer following the expiration of his contract at Paris Saint-Germain.

But, despite far more lucrative offers on the table elsewhere, Messi decided to sign a two-year deal with the MLS outfit. Speaking on the latest episode of Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, Beckham explained how a secret hotel visit managed to lure the Argentina international to the United States.

"When I started this journey, 10 years ago, announcing that I was starting a team in Miami, my vision was always to bring the best players," said the former Manchester United midfielder. "I suppose as an owner of a team, you always want to bring in the best players, but the chance of bringing in the best, is difficult and always challenging.

"But then, I sneaked into Messi’s dad's hotel about four years ago in Barcelona for a meeting with him and obviously, at that point, we weren't ready to bring him in and he wasn't ready to come. I turned around to his dad and said, 'we want your son, we want him to come to Miami when he’s ready', and if that's a possibility.

"We continued the conversations, and with my partners, Jorge Mas and Jose [Mas], we just worked on it for about four years," Beckham added. "When he was at PSG, we saw an opportunity and he was either going to go back to Barcelona [or to Miami], but then suddenly, everything aligned, and we were still having the conversations.

"To bring someone like him to the club, we knew it would change the club and we knew it would change the league and the sport – but it’s beyond that. What he does on the pitch, what he does off the pitch, for the young kids – to bring somebody in like him is the dream, also Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

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"To bring in Leo has changed everything. The academy kids have someone to look up to, who has done everything, won everything, and he’s teaching them, which is amazing."

Had Chelsea wrapped up a deal for Messi in 2014, then who knows whether Beckham would have been able to secure the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's signature. The former PSG and Barcelona star 'secretly' agreed to join the Blues nine-years ago for £208million, but a transfer collapsed after his dad and agent, Jorge, found out about the talks between his son and the club.

Sky Sports' Gianluca Di Marzio revealed that Roman Abramovich reached an informal agreement with Messi over a contract. The Russian billionaire reportedly agreed to give the Argentine an annual wage of $65million (£56.3million) plus 70% of image rights – and, Messi was reportedly keen on penning said deal.

Jose Mourinho had recently began his second stint at Stamford Bridge when these proposed talks occurred in private. The Portuguese boss would have had Eden Hazard on the left-wing and Messi on the right with Diego Costa leading the line.

Now that is a proper front-three!