David Beckham and Lionel Messi share hug during Inter Miami training ahead of Atlanta United clash

David Beckham attended Inter Miami's training session on Monday (July 24) morning and was spotted giving a hug to Lionel Messi. Beckham has been a regular since the Argentine joined earlier this month.

Inter won their Leagues Cup opener against Cruz Azul 2-1 last week, with Messi netting a sensational 94th-minute free-kick winner. They face Atlanta United on Tuesday in their second group game.

Messi, who left Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, was at the training session when Beckham came in for a quick chat. The Argentine was back on the pitch soon, while Beckham sat on a cooler on the sides.

Last week, Beckham told ESPN that Messi's unveiling was viewed a stunning 3.5 billion times:

"We have the greatest player in history in our city and in our club, that attracted a lot of attention around the world, something we always wanted. We had 3.5 billion viewers during Leo's presentation, it was something very big."

Lionel Messi was unveiled at the DRV PNK Stadium last week with around 20,000 fans in attendance. His debut also saw a jam-packed stadium with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, LeBron James and Serene Williams in the stands.

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Lionel Messi's joining Inter Miami saw David Beckham bombarded with messages

David Beckham has admitted that he has been working to get Lionel Messi to Inter Miami since the inception of the club. He reckoned that the Argentine would play for the MLS club before calling it quits, and the move finally took place this summer.

Messi wanted to return to Barcelona but ended up picking Inter Miami, as he did not want to wait for the Blaugrana to sort out their financial issues. Beckham has revealed that the Argentine's announcement saw him receive a million messages and was quoted by Daily Mail as saying:

"A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to about a million messages on my phone. I was thinking, 'What's gone off? I don't usually get this many messages.'

All of a sudden, I hear Leo has come out and announced he's coming to Miami. Obviously, it wasn't a surprise to me. I have always said, from the word go, that if I had the opportunity to bring the best players in the game to Miami, at whatever time of their careers, I would do that. I have always made that commitment to our fans."

He added:

"So, when I hear that one of the best players — if not the best player — who has won everything in the game, who is still a great player, still young and still doing what he's doing, wants to play for my team, it's a massive moment for us."

Lionel Messi's MLS debut for David Beckham's side is expected to be on August 20 against Charlotte FC.