David Beckham has put more than £11 million of his own money into his soccer team.
David Beckham
The 45-year-old retired sportsman has increased his stake in Inter Miami CF by putting in another £11.2 million, documents filed at Companies House and seen by The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column have revealed.
David and his co-owners were granted the franchise for the Major League Soccer team in January 2018 but the project took some time to come to fruition and the team only played their first game last March.
The former England captain previously said of the venture: “Our mission to bring an MLS club to Miami is now complete, and we are deeply satisfied, grateful and excited.
“Our pledge to our fans in Miami and around the world is simple: Your team will always strive to make you proud on the pitch, our stadium will be a place that you cherish visiting, and our impact in the community and on South Florida’s youth will run deep.”
And David defended the decision to appoint his friend and former teammate Phil Neville as manager, insisted he simply wanted the "best people" in all positions at the club.
He said: “Of course, people are always going to turn around and say, ‘Oh, it’s because he’s your friend’.
“It’s nothing to do with him being my friend.
“Our ownership group doesn’t just employ our friends.
“We employ the best people, whether it’s on the field, off the field, in our backroom staff, the staff that we have working in our training facility, at the stadium.
“We are running a serious soccer club here. And I think at the end of the day, we hire people that we feel are best suited for the job.”
Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that David - who has four children with wife Victoria Beckham - has invested in a company which makes cannabis-infused skincare products.
The star bought a minority stake in Cellular Goods, with his friend and associate David Gardner - who oversees the retired sportsman's businesses and investment firm DB Ventures - joining the company's board as a non-executive director.
Cellular Goods add lab-produced cannabis compounds to their skincare and athletic recovery products.
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