David Beckham and his fellow investors in Miami Beckham United, the group working to bring Major League Soccer back to South Florida, are thinking big.
Zlatan big.
Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be one of the Miami club's first major signings, Beckham told Aftonbladet, a newspaper in Ibrahimovic's home country.
"If Ibrahimovic is still active, then I want to buy him right away. He is a magnificent physical specimen, so it's entirely possible,” Beckham said of the Paris St-Germain striker, Beckham's teammate in his final year as a professional.
"Who does not want a man who is prepared to kill to win?"
A clever, powerful targetman capable of conjuring moments of spectacular skill at any time, “Ibra” has previously mentioned a desire to try his hand in MLS at some point.
Beckham's group finally carved out some success in their long-running hunt for a downtown stadium site this month, as a spot in Miami's Overtown neighborhood has been identified – a positive signal not only for MBU's expansion hopes, but apparently also a cue for the European media to crank up the rumor mill on the future club's possible big-name transfer targets.
"We have received permission to build an arena and it will take three years,” Beckham told Aftonbladet of the stadium news. “Maybe two, at best.”
Even by the most aggressive expansion timeline, Ibrahimovic, 34, would be fairly long in the tooth by the time Miami's new team takes the field. But it sounds like that would be no obstacle for Beckham's former colleague.
"I've played with or against the very best in the world," Beckham said. "I have never met anyone who was so serious during both practice and games.
"When I came to Paris I knew that he was an incomparable talent as a player, but he'd be so tough and merciless on himself at all times, I had no idea.
"He is a born winner. He is a beast with huge self-confidence, and I'm one of his biggest admirers."
