The games when Lionel Messi and David Beckham played against each other

Lionel Messi and David Beckham are suddenly expected to have a very close working relationship as the Argentine forward has signed for Inter Miami in MLS. They are two huge names in football and both massive celebrities in their own right.

Messi's move to the team that Beckham co-owns was announced on Wednesday evening and it has caused huge excitement among both Inter Miami fans and the wider MLS world. He will be the biggest name to ever play or be involved in the league and the public interest is set to rocket, almost even more so given Inter Miami are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table.

Throughout their careers, this will be the first time that Messi and Beckham have been pulling in the same direction. Whilst they are from different generations of players, there was an overlap between their playing careers and the pair have faced off on the pitch in the past.

1. Real Madrid vs Barcelona - La Liga 2005/06

The first time that David Beckham and Lionel Messi faced each other was a very long time ago. Beckham was still at Real Madrid when Messi started to make a splash at Barcelona. He may not have found the net himself in this game, but it was a comprehensive 3-0 away win for Barcelona at the Bernabeu.

The goals came from Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho (2) in a game that had a ridiculous number of big stars on the pitch. Beyond those mentioned already, there was Deco, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Robinho, Raul, Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. The benches included the likes of Andres Iniesta, Henrik Larsson and Guti.

Beckham played the full 90 minutes in central midfield alongside Pablo Garcia, whilst Messi played 70 minutes on the right of a front three that also featured goalscorers Eto'o and Ronaldinho.

2. Real Madrid vs Barcelona - La Liga 2006/07

The next time the pair would be on the same pitch together was only the following season, but this time, it was for just seven minutes rather than 70. It was a game that Messi started and finished, but Beckham was only brought on by Fabio Capello for the final moments, replacing Guti.

Even without Beckham, Real Madrid were able to win the game 2-0 thanks to goals from Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Many of the great stars of the previously mentioned game were on the pitch, along with Eidur Gudjohnsen, Lillian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, Roberto Carlos and Lassana Diarra.

3. PSG vs Barcelona - Champions League 2012/13

With Beckham leaving Spain for LA Galaxy at the end of that season, there was a long gap where the two great names did not face each other in competitive matches. That changed in the 2012/13 season in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

After two loans at AC Milan, Beckham had permanently moved back to Europe on a short-term contract to end his playing career at Paris Saint-Germain. For 46 minutes of the first leg, he and Messi were on the pitch together again. This was also the first game where either of them were involved in a goal, with Messi grabbing the opener in what turned out to be a dramatic 2-2 draw in Paris.

Messi picked up an injury and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas at half-time, whilst Beckham stayed on until the 70th minute, before PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti put Marco Verratti on in his place.

4. Barcelona vs PSG - Champions League 2012/13

In the return leg, it was all to play for at Camp Nou. Much like the second La Liga game between Beckham and Messi, though, they were only on the pitch together for seven minutes.

Neither of them started the 1-1 draw that saw Barcelona progress. Messi came on with half an hour to play whilst Beckham was introduced for the last seven minutes.

Beckham once said of this game: "I probably decided to retire when Messi was running past me." It was a match that featured many great players like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, David Villa, Gerard Pique, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Lucas Moura as a youngster.

Lionel Messi's record against David Beckham

Overall then, Messi has narrowly got a better record against Beckham than the other way around. Whilst there has been a win each and two draws, those two draws saw Barcelona make it to the Champions League semi-finals rather than Beckham's PSG side.

Wins: 1
Draws: 2
Losses: 1