Pictures © Chadwick | Archive, Getty/Alamy
In the 19th century, a search for gold famously captured popular imagination across America. A couple of centuries later, the commodity of allure across the land of opportunity seems to be polyester Pantone 1895C. People are scrambling for Inter Miami’s soft, electric pink football shirts. Pink is the new gold, it seems.
The announcement that Lionel Messi would be signing for David Beckham’s Inter Miami made their jersey the hottest piece of replica sports merchandise on the planet, and quite possibly of all time. It’s the perfect capitalist storm: a distinctive colour, a new and exotic football club with the addendum of Beckham, fronted by an instantly recognisable and widely adored athlete in Messi.