Published 2023-10-28 10.51
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Inter Miami CF missed the playoffs and thus the season is over for David Beckham’s star-studded squad.
Swedish Christopher Mcvey looks back on the most eventful year in his football life.
– Quite a lot changed when we signed Messi, he says.
It was in July that Inter Miami CF’s owner, English football icon David Beckham, dropped the transfer bomb.
Lionel Messi then signed a contract worth 586 million kroner per year and the hysteria was not long in coming. For Miami’s Swedish center back Christopher Mcvey, however, the signing came as no surprise.
– No, it had been rumored for a very long time, even if you didn’t dare to really believe it. But I had spoken to some in the club and some of the owners were very sure that they would succeed, so then you had to believe in them.
– And it worked out, says McVey.
full screenChristopher Mcvey and Lionel Messi after winning the cup title. Photo: Private/Instagram
You in the team had received a hint in advance, then?
– I knew it anyway because the owners believed in it so much. We had a match on the same day that it became official and there weren’t that many people talking about the match itself at the time, but everything was about Messi.
Looking back on the season, what can you say?
– A crazy eventful year, one must say. We started really well and I played a lot. But then it got worse, Phil Neville was fired and our assistant took over.
– Then I didn’t get to play much at the same time as we lost some matches. Then Gerardo “Tata” Martino came in and Messi too. Then we started winning. We took our first title when we won the cup as well.
– It was fun to be part of and win a title, even if maybe I didn’t get as much playing time as I hoped for in the end. It was an okay season even though we missed the playoffs. And of course it was big that we signed Messi, it’s big to play with him.
full screen McVey in Elfsborg. Photo: Jörgen Jarnberger / Bildbyrån
McVey has a past in both Dalkurd and Elfsborg and during the winter of 2022 he called his agent and announced that he wanted to try something new.
That he would change Borås for Miami was, however, far from obvious.
– It was quite a long process. Miami scouted me very carefully and then when they decided to make an offer, it happened pretty quickly. I had been in Florida quite a bit before so I knew that I would enjoy being social and now that Beckham had started the club and was going to invest, there was no doubt about it.
– Gonzalo Higuain played there when I signed and it felt like an interesting project in terms of football.
– I really enjoy it here.
How did everything change when Lionel Messi arrived?
– There was a huge difference. It’s really crazy. Previously, there were maybe five or six journalists who followed us. There were over 100 journalists at Messi’s first training and it was a sick hysteria. It holds up even now.
– When we go to away games, there can be 100-150 people outside the hotel, and it feels like they are standing there around the clock to wait for him, even if it is 45 degrees. Then all the security that has become much more thorough, where Messi has his own bodyguard and there is a lot of security thinking even outside the field.
Do you think it is only positive?
– Yes I think so. There will be more light and focus even on us who play here and the attention will be greater on everyone. The rest of us also get more eyes on us.
How is Messi as a teammate?
-Very kind, helpful and humble. He doesn’t say much but shows it on the pitch instead. He is very nice when you talk to him. They are well schooled in the culture of Barcelona, he and Sergio Busquets, because they are both very kind and humble.
Are the hierarchies in the team clearly visible when you bring in such players?
– Yes, but that’s the way it is. Messi is the world’s best player of all time in my opinion and he took the team captain’s armband straight away, which was obvious. Everyone has respect for him, regardless of whether you are a teammate or an opponent.
Is it Messi who walks in the front row at the team parties too?
– We haven’t had a team party since he arrived, but we’ll probably have one now after the season, so we’ll see, says Mcvey with a laugh.
– Last year we went out to a restaurant and ate and then there were some who went out to a nightclub. We will see if there will be something similar this year.
full screen Miami owners David Beckham and Christoper Mcvey. Photo: Private/Instagram
How are David and Victoria Beckham?
– Same thing there, they are very humble. They are down at training in between and I have probably stood and talked to them every now and then.
Mcvey has a contract until December 31, 2024. Then the club has an option for another year.
Despite the fact that the playing time became less at the end, the 26-year-old has no plans to leave early.
– I enjoy myself very well here. There is almost always something going on and there is a lot to do when you are free. Then the climate is very good, it’s like having a holiday when you’re free.
fullscreen Former AIK player Robert Taylor and Christoper Mcvey. Photo: Private/Instagram
Who do you hang out with the most outside of football?
– It’s Robert Taylor (former AIK and the Finnish national team). He’s really done well and it’s great that things have gone so well for him. he has really had a good season.
You didn’t make the playoffs this season, but that must be the given goal next year?
– Yes, that’s right. Then we have Messi the whole season as well and it is only hoped that he can be injury free.
2023-10-29 00:12:48
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