If the cap fits... casual-looking Beckham heads out for Miami meetings as plans for MLS franchise gather pace

David Beckham was awfully casual for a man heading out for a series of business meetings.

But when you’re the multi-millionaire sporting superstar who plans to head up his own Major League Soccer franchise, dressing to impress is not so much of a necessity.

Beckham was snapped leaving his exclusive South Beach hotel in Miami on Wednesday sporting a cap – peak at the rear – jeans, jumper, sunglasses and trainers.

Checking out: David Beckham leaves his South Beach hotel in Miami on his way to business meetings and scouting stadium locations for the MLS team he plans to bring to the city

It is thought the 38-year-old was on his way to scout sites for a purpose-built football stadium and meet potential investors.

Beckham - who this week it was revealed has been put forward for a knighthood in the Queen's New Year's Honours List - has an option from his contract with LA Galaxy to own a club in the league for a set fee of $25million and MLS wants to expand from 19 to 24 clubs by 2020.

And last week he was quoted as saying: 'I am excited about owning a team... continuing to be part of the MLS in the future.

'Miami excites me because I think it’s a city that is very excitable. I’ve been to watch the basketball there. I’ve seen the [NFL’s Miami] Dolphins play. It’s a city where the people in the city love their sport.'

Dress-down day: Beckham sports a cap as he heads off to meet potential investors

Beckham visited the campus of Florida International University and the Marlins Park baseball stadium with one possible investor in the MLS team, Bolivian-born billionaire Marcelo Claure, CEO of Miami-based wireless services company Brightstar Corporation.

The two looked at the stadiums as potential sites until a possible permanent soccer stadium can be built, said Vanessa Santana-Penate, a spokeswoman for Miami-Dade county mayor Carlos Gimenez.


The visits came a day after Beckham and Claure dined with Gimenez in Claure's Miami Beach home, Santana-Penate said.

Night out: The evening before, Beckham met Neymar and other members of the Brazil national team at a Miami Heat game

Claure, who owns his own soccer team in Bolivia, posted a picture on his Instagram account with Beckham and Simon Fuller, whose management company 19 Entertainment handles Beckham's business affairs.

'An unforgettable night in my house in Miami,' Claure wrote in Spanish, all three men smiling in the picture.

Beckham's trip also coincided with the arrival of Brazil's national soccer team to Miami. Brazil will play Honduras in an exhibition match on Saturday in front of what is expected to be a packed house at Sun Life stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins American football team.

MLS has confirmed the league is in discussions with Beckham about a team but has said it is awaiting a formal bid, including details of the ownership group and a stadium plan.