As Lionel Messi climbed the steps to receive his record-setting eighth Ballon d’Or, he was seen beaming at a man who he’s gotten to know very well in recent months.

Few people in the world of sports have had the year that David Beckham has. Not only was he able to pull off the transfer of the decade for Major League Soccer, he saw his Inter Miami team win their first trophy – the Leagues Cup.

Now here he was: standing on a stage in France, passing the Ballon d’Or to Messi – the first ever MLS player to win the prestigious award.

It may be wrong to say that Beckham planned for all of this to happen, but he has been preparing for the moment of Messi’s arrival for years.

Ever since the Argentine teased interest in Beckham’s Miami project, the Englishman has tried to make it happen. He pulled it off through his charm and now has formed a friendship with the greatest to ever play the game.

David Beckham presented Lionel Messi with his eighth Ballon d’Or trophy on Monday

It’s the culmination of what has become a fast friendship since Messi moved to Inter Miami

After he became the man to hand Messi the gilded trophy, Beckham gushed over the Argentine captain.

‘It’s very special to say he’s a Miami player and he’s in our city,’ Beckham said. ‘He’ll celebrate this with his team-mates and his family in his way.

‘We’ll do our best to celebrate it in the Miami way. I’m sure we can do a good party.’

Messi was joined at the ceremony by his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and their three sons, Mateo, Thiago and Ciro. The youngsters even joined Messi on stage.

This was all the culmination of years of speculation that the World Cup winner was interested in taking his talents to South Beach.

Back in 2018, when it was announced that Beckham would be starting a franchise in Miami, Messi sent along a congratulatory message via a social media video.

‘First of all, congratulations,’ said Messi, in Spanish, in a social media video. ‘I wanted to wish you all the best in this project, this new role for you.

‘And who knows, maybe in a few years you can give me a call.’

Beckham put on a charm offensive – not just to woo Messi, but to welcome him to a new home

Call he did. Beckham and Miami began poking and prodding to try and get the wantaway star – who was with PSG at the time – to join MLS.

‘There’s a lot of hard work that has to be done to bring a player like Leo into this league, and we were prepared to do that,’ Beckham said in the Apple TV documentary ‘Messi Meets America’.

‘Because a player like Leo and the magnitude of bringing him and his family to Miami, there’s many elements that have to be put right before you even think about having a conversation.’

In that same documentary, Messi said that Beckham was one of his main points of contact for questions about the league which the Englishman set alight in 2007.

‘He guided me and told me a little bit about his experience, what it had been like for him to come and play here when he made the decision,’ Messi said in Spanish (translation via subtitles).

‘But at the same time he told me that things now were not the same because the league has grown a lot since his arrival.’

Eventually, after debating a return to Barcelona or a move to Saudi Arabia, Messi agreed to join Inter Miami this past summer.

‘I came with great enthusiasm,’ Messi said. ‘My wife and I and our children have really been enjoying ourselves and we’ve been talking about what this could mean for us. And it was a nice start.’

Messi thanked Beckham and the Mas brothers (flanking Messi) for making his arrival easy

Messi said that David Beckham offered him guidance and told him about life in the USA

The Beckhams made sure that Messi’s first match in Miami was an event no one should miss

Before the game, LeBron James gave Messi a hug to welcome him to Miami’s sporting legends

He began to pamper Messi and showed him what the city had to offer.

Beckham took Messi and his fellow ex-Barcelona arrivals Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba out for a decadent night on the town.

They met up with Miami nightclub owner David Grutman at Gekko Miami – a sushi restaurant and steakhouse with a club-like atmosphere.

The wives joined them all out as well as the group lapped up every moment.

But Leo wasn’t the only one that was being pampered. His wife, Antonella Roccuzzo was treated to a ‘girls lunch’ with Victoria Beckham to celebrate the fashion launch of Grutman’s wife, Isabela.

David Beckham and Lionel Messi celebrated Inter Miami’s 4-0 win over Charlotte with Jordi Alba (second left), Sergio Busquets (second right) and David Grutman (right)

Messi and his wife Antonela Roccuzzo have begun blending into the Miami social scene

Beckham has made it a point to attend a number of Messi’s team training sessions

David Beckham has started drinking mate tea – one of Lionel Messi’s favorite drinks

Messi is well known for his love of mate tea and is often seen drinking it around games