David Beckham and his family returned to the US and watched Inter Miami beat New England Revolution 6-2 on October 20. After the match, he and the club’s co-owners, billionaires Jorge Mas and Jose Mas, presented the Supporters’ Shield trophy to Messi and his teammates, and declared: “We are focused on winning the MLS Cup in the play-off round.”

“We have broken records in the MLS season. So proud of what coach Tata Martino and the team have achieved, after the journey we have come. But we are not done yet. Thank you La Familia (Inter Miami fans) for all your amazing support. We need you again, stronger and more than ever for the playoffs. Let’s go Inter Miami!”, David Beckham wrote the message on social network Instagram recently.

The 49-year-old former English player also posted a photo of Inter Miami Club for the 2024 season with all the players, coaches and co-owners, along with a strong message: “We are Inter Miami”.

Inter Miami will play Atlanta United in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, in a “best of three” format, with the first leg at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium starting at 7:30 a.m. on October 26. The second leg will be at Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 6 a.m. on November 3. The winner of both matches will advance. If the match ends in a tie (each team has one win), the third match will be at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium at 8 a.m. on November 10.

In the history of confrontation with a total of 14 matches, Inter Miami and Atlanta United have balanced results, with each team having 5 wins and the remaining 4 matches having a draw.

But Atlanta United have the advantage of winning two of their last three, including a 5-2 win in September 2023 in the Messi era that began against Inter Miami in MLS. Messi and Jordi Alba did not play in that 2-5 loss due to “muscle fatigue”, but they both played in the two matches in 2024 against Atlanta United, including Messi starting the first leg (lost 1-3) and coming off the bench in the second leg on September 19 (drawn 2-2).

Atlanta United finished the MLS season with 40 points and finished ninth, just ahead of DC United on goal difference to secure a playoff spot. They won their wild card match against CF Montreal 5-4 on penalties (the game ended 2-2 after regulation) to set up a first-round match against Inter Miami (ranked No. 1 in the standings).

However, Atlanta United will be a very tough opponent for Inter Miami, due to their history of confrontation and long-standing “enmity”. Inter Miami is only rated to have a winning rate of about 35.7%.

Considering the knockout nature of cup matches, Messi and his teammates could benefit. In the 2023 Leagues Cup group stage, Messi led his teammates to a 4-0 win over Atlanta United, then went straight to the first championship in the club’s history.

This is the third time in history that Inter Miami has made it to the MLS Cup playoffs. In the previous two appearances in 2020 and 2022, they were eliminated early in the first round of the playoffs without scoring a goal.

This year, Messi and his teammates in the “Fab Four” of Busquets, Suarez and Jordi Alba hope to help Inter Miami go further. However, the ambition of president David Beckham is even bigger: winning the MLS Cup. That’s why the former footballer and businessman is following his beloved team closely.

Furthermore, David Beckham wants Inter Miami to win the MLS Cup to quell any talk about FIFA favoring his team in the 2025 Club World Cup, according to AS (Spain).