Manchester United legend David Beckham was back at Old Trafford this past week to promote a UNICEF charity match at United between Great Britain and Rest of the World legends on November 14.
And while in England he gave an update on his Miami based MLS team: “We want the club to be run professionally – everything needs to be run like a club like Manchester United. You have to look at it like that.
“Luckily, I’ve had a little bit of experience in that and I definitely will be a demanding owner.
“I want the team to be successful and the club to be successful, so I think I have to be demanding.
“I definitely won’t get involved in team decisions though – the way players are playing and things like that.
“The hairdryer? Well, I’ve seen it enough times and I know how it works on the positive side of things. We’ll see.
“But I’m not going to manage or coach. I won’t get involved in any of that. I will just be the owner.”
Becks added: “We’re in a very good position – better than we were a year ago.
“It’s been a long process and I didn’t think it would be as difficult as it has been – but dealing with the political side of things in Miami has been a lot more difficult.
“I have never been an owner of a team before, so you have to deal with these things.
“But we’ve found a site where we want the stadium and we have to build it before we can come into the league. Our aim is 2018 but trying to build a team is something I’ve dreamed of since being a kid.
“As a 12-year-old, sat around with your mates, you can only dream of owning a club and thinking of who you want to play for your team, the colours you are going to play in and what you are going to call it.
“There have been a few speed bumps along the way but I believe we are closer now than we’ve ever been.
“So hopefully in the next six weeks we’ll be able to announce the site of the stadium, the stadium plans and then we’ll move on – it’s really exciting.”
When asked what the club would be called He said: “We haven’t decided on a name yet.
“We’ve got a couple of names we like, but we are probably going to get the public involved in Miami, because we want it to be their team.
“The Miami sports fans are very passionate, especially when they’ve got a successful team, so I think we’ll involve them in some way.
“I actually heard Miami Vice the other day – it’s NOT going to be that! Miami Reds? I also heard Miami United the other day but we’ll see.
“It’s a new team and you can’t create what Manchester United have got or what Real Madrid have got.
“You can’t suddenly create history like we have at Old Trafford. But you want to get that kind of feeling embedded into the club very quickly.
“There’s no other sport or league in the world where you can actually brand a new team into a big league when you are starting from scratch.
“I’ve always played for clubs with so much great history – Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris St-Germain. Even in the USA, La Galaxy – where I played – have been around for many years.
“What we are trying to create from scratch in Miami is the exciting part.”
