David Beckham posts 'Welcome to Miami' picture with Neymar Jr before quickly adding more

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham could not resist sending the rumour mill into overdrive as welcomed Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr to Florida alongside wife Victoria. Having already snared Lionel Messi for his MLS outfit in the past year, the former Manchester United icon insisted that their meeting was strictly for leisure purposes as they sat down for dinner.

The ex-England captain has already established a contingent of departed Barcelona stalwarts in recent times at Chase Stadium, with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also accompanied by Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba stateside. With Messi representing the coup of a lifetime for Beckham, it remains to be seen whether the signing can catapult the team to sustained success.

One star who may be on the former Real Madrid midfielder’s radar for the future is Neymar, who has made no mistake of his desire to play with his old teammate again in the past. The Brazilian forward turned out for Barcelona alongside four of the current Miami roster, while also teaming up with Messi again at Paris Saint-Germain.

However, it appears that Neymar is instead simply enjoying some downtime in the Sunshine State, with business far from his mind during his travels. The Al Hilal winger has packed in a host of bucket list items in his time in the US including watching the Miami Marlins in action, attending the Miami Open and partying alongside celebrities including Machine Gun Kelly.

The latest item on his ittinery was a meal alongside the Inter Miami co-owner Beckham, with his former Spice Girl wife Victoria also joining in the festivities. Marking the occasion, the retired football legend posted a picture of the trio on his Facebook page, with the caption: “Welcome to Miami my friend.”

Apprehending speculation about the meeting, Beckham then made sure to clarify that the meeting was in a recreational capactity, adding they met ‘only for dinner’ while tagging the official Inter Miami account. Still, that did not stop MLS reporter Favian Renkel from teasing: “Heat up the rumour mill.

“Neymar just posted a picture on his Instagram story with David and Victoria Beckham,” he continued, as he asked the question many others in the comments section were pondering, adding: “Who thinks there was a little come to MLS sales pitch in this conversation?”

What is for certain is that Neymar has spoke about the prospect of playing with current Miami talisman Messi again in the years to come. He previously told ESPN Argentina: “Hopefully we can play together again. Leo is a great person, everyone knows him in football and I think he is very happy and if he is happy, I am too.”

Likewise, the all-time Brazil leading goalscorer admitted on the Fenomenos podcast: “I don’t know. I have some doubts about that. I don’t know if I’ll play in Brazil again,” tellingly confessing: “I’d love to play in the U.S., actually. I’d love to play there at least for a season.”

Either way, the Al Hilal forward may not take to the pitch for another four months as he continues his recovery from the knee injury that ended his season in the Gulf State. His national team medic Rodrigo Lasmar claimed back in December: “We expect that he will be ready to return at the start of the 2024 season in Europe, which is in August. We need to be patient. Talking about a return before nine months is premature.”