DAVID BECKHAM’S return to Major League Soccer has seen interest in the sport Stateside sky-rocket.

When Goldenballs first crossed the Pond to join LA Galaxy in 2007, it was more like a superstar taking a step into the great unknown.

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David Beckham will return to MLS as a club owner after setting up new franchise Inter MiamiCredit: AFP or licensors

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Beckham spent five years at LA Galaxy, winning the MLS Cup twiceCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But 12 years on, the prospect of MLS teams one day playing competitive matches against European sides does not seem such an alien concept.

That will be a mouth-watering prospect for Becks, whose new franchise Inter Miami play their inaugural season in 2020.

Yes, the quality of football may be some way off of Europe’s best — but the sales of Miguel Almiron to Newcastle and Alphonso Davies to Bayern Munich show top talents are starting to develop there.

Throw in former World Cup final whistler Howard Webb’s arrival as as general manager of the MLS’ Professional Referee Organisation and you cannot doubt the division’s reputation is growing.

It can now handle Wayne Rooney’s impending exit – joining Derby County as player-coach.

Had Becks called it quits a year in, it would have been devastating.

Anyone at the LAFC vs LA Galaxy 3-3 derby draw at the Banc of California stadium last month will confirm the atmosphere was a match for anything in Europe.

LAFC are a great example to Beckham’s Miami side as they only played their first league game in March 2018.

Now ex-Swansea boss Bob Bradley has them top of the Western Conference by a huge 16 points, thanks to goal-mad ex-Arsenal kid Carlos Vela.

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Inter Miami will join MLS from next season, 13 years after the England legend joined LA GalaxyCredit: Instagram
Through well thought-out guerilla marketing — the club spread the word by sending selected fans into bars to engage with potential fans — LAFC have built up a passionate backing, tapping heavily into LA’s football-mad Latino population.

The sight of thousands of fans in their trendy black kit, standing in the “3252” — the name of their north stand — singing non-stop for 90 minutes is a sight to behold.

Actor Will Ferrell is one of a few famous club investors and president Tom Penn has a theory on why celebs are getting involved in MLS.

Co-owner Penn said: “Because it’s cool and it’s on a rocketship. They see where franchise club valuations are going and they see the massive opportunity in this media market.

“With the star performance of Vela and the attention that’s gathering, the momentum is so appealing.

“Long-term, we’d love to part of the global football conversation.”

Beckham has visited LAFC many times to learn how they grew so fast.

He has picked a city that had an MLS side before in Miami Fusion, which dissolved in 2002, and some feel it is tough to succeed in Florida.

Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said: “Winning over the fans is going to be a challenge and trying to build a hardcore fanbase.

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David Beckham has visited LAFC – co-owned by Will Ferrell -in the hope he can replicate their fast growthCredit: Splash News
“I was sceptical about Atlanta if you’d told me two years later they’d be averaging 55,000 at a game. I’m not sure that can happen in Miami.

“The weather is a challenge. You can swim through that humidity.”

Yet Penn disagrees, arguing: “I see it as a huge advantage. Miami is better than New York City due to manageable nature of the climate.”

There is no doubt soccer, as they call it, is growing in the land of baseball, gridiron and basketball — it is now the No 2 sport for under-35s.

Clubs like Portland and LAFC have been tapping into the South American market for talent and it has improved the overall quality.

Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani is also being sensationally tipped to join Becks’ Miami side.

Lionel Messi is understood to be the long-term stellar target for the league — rather than Cristiano Ronaldo — but the fact either are mentioned proves the huge ambition for serious growth by the time the US co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.

Paulson said: “This is now a soccer nation. People forget that the 1994 finals still hold the record attendance for the World Cup.

“When we get to the next one, we’ll blow everything out of the water.”