Retired England football star David Beckham has chosen Miami for a new U.S. Major League Soccer expansion team, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Tuesday.
The former England captain who retired earlier this year after stints with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the MLS club L.A. Galaxy, had been considering several locations and toured Miami this summer, meeting with city and county leaders.
His MLS player contract included an option to create a new team for $25 million.
Beckham was still putting together a team of investors, the source said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Beckham’s plans have yet to be officially announced.
His representatives are already looking at sites for a purpose-built football-only stadium, according to a well-placed source in Miami’s business community.
“They have people looking real hard. They want to be in the urban core,” the person said.
A fan group which has been campaigning for a team to come to the city welcomed the news. Julio Caballero, spokesman for the group, which calls itself MLS Miami Bid, posted “It’s our time,” on the group’s Facebook page.
MLS confirmed it was in discussions with Beckham but declined to confirm if a deal had been struck, Reuters informs.
