David Beckham's recent presentation of his MLS franchise's name and crest signaled the second wave of excitement towards soccer returning to South Florida. The pressure for Beckham to succeed in Miami will be immense, especially given the compromise he and his investment group are asking the city to make.
The pressure is even greater considering the previous failure of former MLS franchise Miami Fusion which folded in 2001. Inter Miami CF is scheduled to be ready to go in 2020, and with no players, no coach, and no stadium, Beckham and his people have their work cut out. A lot of things need to fall in place if the great CR7 is to be persuaded to make Inter Miami CF his home for the inaugural season.
In 2020 Cristiano Ronaldo will be 35 years old, and will still be under contract with employers Juventus. However, like a lot of things in life, money talks, and bringing Ronaldo to America could definitely be an investment worth making.
Both Beckham and Ronaldo are two of the most popular faces in football. Beckham is probably the most well known non-playing soccer player in the world, and there is no denying the brand juggernaut that is CR7.
Both individuals carried the weight of the famous Manchester United number 7 shirt, both wore the historic white of Real Madrid admirably, and both are international fashion icons. Imagine the fun marketing gurus will have with those parallels.
The MLS has been slowly reducing the stigma of being a retirement league. The Atlanta United model of signing players like Miguel Almirón and Josef Martínez in their prime has worked great thus far.
As Zlatan Ibrahimović has shown, there is still value in bringing the world's biggest stars to Americas greatest cities, and Ronaldo is an even bigger star than Zlatan (yea I said it). A 35-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo in 2020 with his physical discipline is almost guaranteed to still be able to have fantastic performances.
