Matthew McConaughey Applauds David Beckham’s Impact on Boosting Soccer’s Popularity

Matthew McConaughey recently expressed his gratitude to David Beckham for his significant role in elevating soccer’s profile in the United States. The celebrated actor made his way to Inter Miami to witness the unveiling of their new $1 billion stadium last Saturday.

Known for his unwavering loyalty to his beloved Texan Longhorns and as a supporter of Austin FC, the 56-year-old McConaughey attended the MLS match between Inter Miami CF and Austin FC at the newly opened Nu Stadium.

McConaughey was so moved by Beckham’s contributions to Major League Soccer in the U.S. that he took to social media platform X to compose a heartfelt letter of appreciation. In it, he acknowledged the former footballer’s pivotal influence on the sport.

Beckham, who serves as the co-owner and president of Inter Miami, has overseen the club’s impressive valuation growth, projected to reach approximately $1.35 billion by 2026, largely due to the “Messi effect.”

In his open letter, aptly titled “Mr Beckham young man,” McConaughey wrote, “As Austin visits Miami today for a little shindig on your new pitch, I want to first shout out a sincere ‘thank you’ – you didn’t create soccer over here in the US, but you damn sure supercharged it.”

‘When you came to the Galaxy you gave MLS fresh legitimacy, you turned games into events, and you essentially changed MLS from a proving ground to a premier destination – THANK YOU.

Matthew McConaughey thanked David Beckham for ‘supercharging soccer in the US’ as he headed to Inter Miami for the $1billion stadium opening on Saturday (pictured last year)

Matthew was so impressed by what David, who is the co-owner and president of Inter Miami, has done for Major League Soccer in America, he took to X to pen an open letter

‘Now, you’re out in Miami, on a similar mission just in a different position – I’ll top my hat to that. Now, I write you today, because my Austin FC club and a busload of verde and black fans are coming into your sea of pink and looking to upset your opening party, so I’m gonna need you and your buddy Leo to make some room for us this weekend. 

‘And with the world’s eyes upon us as this summer draws near, we here in the capital of Texas look forward to stopping by to continue cementing one more cornerstone of American soccer for the world to witness.’

David addressed the fans alongside co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas to celebrate the stadium’s opening.

The stadium itself features a permanent tribute to the star, with a section on the east side officially dedicated as the ‘Leo Messi Stand.’

‘We believed in Miami,’ David said. ‘And Miami believed in us.’

Lionel scored Inter Miami’s first-ever goal and the game eventually ended 2-2 after Austin’s Jayden Nelson restored the visitors’ advantage, before Luis Suarez restored parity in the game with nine minutes left.

It marked the first time that Inter Miami played a game in its namesake city, having previously spent more than six years calling Fort Lauderdale home.

The stadium itself is reported to have cost around $350 million, however the entire Miami Freedom Park campus will cost approximately $1 billion to construct.

Titling it ‘Mr Beckham young man’, he wrote: ‘As Austin visits Miami today for a little shindig on your new pitch, I want to first shout out a sincere ‘thank you’

He captioned the post: ‘sent’ 

Lionel Messi added another milestone to his legendary career on Saturday night, scoring Inter Miami’s first-ever goal at their brand-new Nu Stadium 

Victoria and their three youngest children Romeo, 23, Cruz, 21, and Harper, 14, and Romeo and Cruz’s girlfriends – Kim Turnbull and Jackie Apostel, all turned up to support David  

The complex will feature the 26,700-seater stadium, a 5,000 space parking lot, a 750-room hotel, a retail village, 58 acres of public parks and community football fields.

According to the club, the new stadium has been entirely privately funded and required no city money to complete construction. However, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did allocate $8 million in public funding to complete a road around the stadium. 

Victoria and their three youngest children Romeo, 23, Cruz, 21, and Harper, 14, and Romeo and Cruz’s girlfriends – Kim Turnbull and Jackie Apostel, all turned up to support David.