Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham welcomed his former Real Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane to DRV PNK Stadium on Wednesday night.

Beckham and Zidane played together for Spanish heavyweight Real Madrid in the early 2000s and were reunited in the United States for the US Open Cup final in Miami.

Unfortunately for Beckham, the reunion was soured by events on the field. Miami were beaten 2-1 after Lionel Messi was ruled out of the game completely due to a scar tissue problem.

Miami fell behind in the 24th minute through Griffin Dorsey’s superb finish and nine minutes later, Amine Bassi converted a penalty after a foul by DeAndre Yedlin. It made for a disappointing night for Beckham, who would have started the evening with a great sense of optimism after welcoming Zidane to Miami.

But there was some joy in the Houston corner for NBA and Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden, a co-owner with the Dynamo who was also on hand to cheer his team to victory.

While Beckham has gone into team ownership with his Major League Soccer outfit, Zidane went into coaching.

At the helm of Real Madrid, he led the team to three straight Champions League titles from 2016-18 before leaving the team in 2021.

But Zidane appeared to be enjoying his time in Miami and was seen chatting away to Jorge Mas, one of the Miami co-owners alongside Beckham.

As for the Miami team, attention now turns to the battle to make the MLS post-season playoffs.

Miami is 14th of 15 in the Eastern Conference standings, five points away from the ninth and final playoff position that is currently occupied by New York City FC.

And that’s who Miami plays next, on Saturday night, with increasing concerns over Messi’s availability.