Inter Miami CF still has yet to play an MLS match, but with their 2020 debut campaign approaching, managing owner Jorge Mas isn't afraid to share his lofty ambitions for the future of the franchise.
In an interview with TUDN on Thursday, Mas said his ultimate goal is to make the club a destination for the global elite, and not just on the back end of their careers. While that might seem like lip service that every club owner can easily say without following through, Mas pointed to a few factors that he's hoping will make him uniquely equipped to make good on that notion.
“We aspire to bring the best players in the world, to bring the elite of international football, and not just [bring] the elite here to retire," Mas said. "It has to be a player that is able to fully contribute immediately. I have talked to many global stars. David [Beckham] and I have met with them. I believe you will see astros coming here to the city of Miami, not only in 2020, but projecting to ’22, ’23, ’24. You are going to see big fish in Miami because it’s an attractive city, it’s going to be an attractive project for international figures. It’s important to elevate the level of the quality of play in MLS and I believe Inter Miami is going to do that. We’re going to bring the best players in the world to our squad to our city, and I hope to welcome those players.”
Inter Miami has already been linked to some of the sport's biggest names, including Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and even Lionel Messi, although at this point each of those can still be considered part of the silly season rumor mill.
One big name that has publicly expressed interest in eventually joining the new team is former Atletico Madrid superstar and current Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann, who recently told French newspaper L'Equipe that he would like to finish his career in Miami or Los Angeles and that "If Beckham wants me in his club then I'll go."
Mas also touched on those rumors in the interview with TUDN.
“Yes, Antoine Griezmann loves Miami," Mas said. "He says publicly he wants to part of the Inter Miami squad in a few years, after his time in Barça, but there’s Antoine and others and the reality is that we are in conversations with a lot of them to see who is joining in the year 2020.”
