Incoming Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano once rejected the chance to join David Beckham’s MLS outfit during the twilight of his playing days.

The former Barcelona stalwart is set to reunite with ex-teammates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba as he prepares to succeed Tata Martino in the hotseat. The 40-year-old will leave his role as Argentina U-20s boss to take the reins at Chase Stadium and is expected to pen a three-year deal in Florida.

However, his union with the Herons could have materialized sooner, had he taken up a previous offer from Vice City back in 2020. Mascherano was the subject of an approach from Miami co-owner Beckham at the end of his spell with Chinese club Hebei China Fortune but decided to see out his playing career with Estudiantes in his homeland instead.

Recalling how the situation played out, the former Camp Nou mainstay admitted that he had a number of offers on the table, with a move to MLS having proven particularly attractive. Ultimately, the opportunity to return to the country of his birth proved too hard to resist, however.

He told CNN: “I was analysing different offers and the one from MLS seemed very interesting at the time, but in the end I chose to play in Argentina where I started my career. It was no secret that I was close to signing for Inter Miami, I mean it was almost a done deal but things can change very quickly and at the end I chose Estudiantes de la Plata.”

Mascherano played 11 times in total for Estudiantes before announcing his retirement in November 2020. After hanging up his boots, the former Liverpool and West Ham man embarked on his first coaching role Argentina’s youth set-up, leading an U-23s team to the quarter finals at the Olympics in Paris in the summer.

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Former Barcelona and Liverpool player Javier Mascherano looks set to be appointed as the new head coach of Inter Miami

Former Barcelona and Liverpool player Javier Mascherano looks set to be appointed as the new head coach of Inter Miami ( 

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Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

As for the Miami predecessor Martino, he said of his decision to depart his role: “I definitely made the decision before the first playoff game. Of course, no one, not even my coaching staff, knew about this final decision. We had three games to play—although we aimed for fewer with Atlanta—and I didn’t want there to be any distractions.

“If you look at how the season ended, we’re left with a bitter taste in our mouths; we fell short. But if you look back at the past year-and-a-half and the current position of Inter – not only for the players they have, not only the arrival of the extraordinary players they have, but also because we started to compete differently.”

Martino added: “In some cases, we were successful. In other cases, as I said, we fell short. I think our way of competing changed. It was a very gratifying year and a half for us, and in the global analysis, we should be happy with what was done – knowing that there was a lot more left to do.”