Mayor Francis Suarez Kicks It With David Beckham at World Cup in Qatar

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was seen chilling with soccer legend David Beckham, co-owner of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, at the France-Morocco World Cup semifinal match in Qatar on Wednesday.

On Instagram, Beckham posted a photo of himself and Suarez (whom he tagged), the pair dressed to the nines with the Al Bayt Stadium stands in the background beneath the caption, "Miami Boys in town."

The soccer star is serving as a World Cup ambassador for Qatar under a reported ten-year, $18.25 million-a-year deal.

As for Suarez's Qatar sojourn, New Times has questions. Starting with: Who footed the bill? And how long is our jet-setting mayor gonna be gone?

We've contacted the mayor's office and will update this story with the details when we hear back.

Earlier this year, the Miami City Commission voted to turn over the publicly owned Melreese Country Club property to Beckham and fellow Inter Miami co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas. The 99-year lease deal involves the buildout of a 25,000-seat Inter Miami soccer stadium along with Miami Freedom Park, a mixed-use development to include a large hotel.

The lease has a minimum annual rent of $4.3 million, though the city ordered two additional appraisals of the property to ensure fair-market rent is reflected in the deal. 

Voters passed a referendum in favor of the no-bid deal in 2018.

The deal was criticized by some who believed the city was handing over public property to wealthy developers at a bargain-basement rate with insufficient benefit to taxpayers. In a "mini-doc" created by local documentarian Billy Corben, former Miami Marlins president David Samson says the "Melreese giveaway is so bad it would make the Marlins stadium deal look good — take it from me." (Samson infamously persuaded Miami-Dade County to sell $500 million worth of bonds to finance the stadium now known as LoanDepot Park.) 

Inter Miami says the Melreese agreement will generate billions in revenue for Miami over the life of the lease while creating at least "15,000 direct and indirect jobs."

Beckham and Suarez have been buddy-buddy throughout the development process. The soccer star appeared on a segment of Suarez's "Cafecito Talk" early last year to promote the Inter Miami project.

"This was my dream and this was always my city," Beckham told Suarez, adding, "I don't think I've ever seen a city change so much so quickly, as I've seen in Miami."

The city agreed on a zoning plan this past September, allowing construction to begin at the park, a square, 135-acre parcel located just east of Miami International Airport. The stadium's tentative opening date is slated for 2025.

I want to thank my commission for their continued support of the best sports deals in 🇺🇸 bringing a Multi-Billion Dollar win for Miami residents using zero taxpayer dollars. A new park, an @MLS stadium, & thousands of new jobs coming soon…

The Future of Fútbol is in Miami⚽️ pic.twitter.com/ArgYF4HCL8

— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) September 13, 2022