http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6248835.stm 5 year deal! Surprised he's made this move so early...I mean he's only 31 and could surely have done a job for another decent european club over the next couple of years before then moving to his payday in America?
I wonder whose decision it was, his or the 'Mrs'!?!?!?! A shame to see his talents being wasted, oh well more money for Becks. Good luck to him
In my opinion he has gone for the easy option. If he goes over there he will get immediate god like status wheras if he moves somehwere in Europe he would not recieve the same adulation from the fans. They have even made a law in his name so that clubs can break their salary caps to sign major players! In my opinion, this change in law defeats the entire point of salary caps because smaller clubs will still lose out as they dont have the money to sign these so called 'major players'!
I think it's quite sad in a way. Only a few years ago Becks was top of the list of current English footballers. This basically signals in my opinion that he admits that's it for him and England. So he's off to America for a quick buck and a nice easy retirement. I believe he still had something to offer, and would have liked to have seen him back in the Premiership. It's a sad end really to a career that hasn't lasted at the top as much as it could have done.
I'm not surprised at all!! The mans got no balls whatsoever. What he does have is more than enough money already, a wife with more ambition than the talent to meet it and the maturity of a pre-pubesant sulky schoolboy whos' being lead around by his todger...
I don't know, I think this could be a massive challenge for him...not on the playing side particularly but I will expect that he sees this as his mission to put MLS on the map. Instead of trying to make a difference to one European team (where he's done pretty much all there is to do already) he's essentially the figurehead of an entire league, which whilst still in it's infancy, has huge potential and a big upside. Therefore if all goes well he has so much more to gain than he would if he just went to a European club for the next couple of years...
If the World Cup can't get the USA's enthusiasm for football raised a notch then Mr Beckham will do little.
Christ on a bike I had'nt even realised that, it makes it even worse! What on earth can you possibly do with that sort of money, its beyond even thinking about. How many generations of Beckhams is he hoping to finance...
Hasn't he set up some coaching scools around USA - i do feel there is a valid point about the infancy of footie in USA and that he could make a difference over time to how yanks see football as a sport both to play and to go and watch. My initial reaction was to think he took an easy option - but on reflection - he will have a lot of hard work if he takes this seriously - future manager of USA? I hope he ploughs a signisant amount back in to his schools if the salary is true. USA must a a huge amount of talent waiting to be found - so eventually europe may well benefit - more like Jay coming over here to make a name for themselves. We lose one and gain many.
I think we all know the real reason why he is going to America now...bull to wanting to make football bigger in america...he just wants unthinkable amounts of money, and who wouldnt if given the chance!
I think the 1994 World Cup came too early for the USA to really catch on to football as they didn't have a good league in place at the time to keep the interest going. Since then I think American people have been somewhat caught up in the performance of their team in World Cups since...but the problem is the American psyche means they only support "winners" and their team is viewed as plucky, but not one that has a real chance of winning anything. I was over there this summer, and surprisingly was told by most of the Americans I spoke to that they were supporting England or Brazil...when I asked them why they just said it was because they thought the USA didn't have a chance, therefore they didn't bother to support them. I think what Beckham will bring is a renewed interest from the marketing sector in particular, and you have to look no further than the Premiership since 1993 to see what a difference TV and sponsorship money can make to a league. I would look at an improvement in the MLS to lead to bigger expectations and more of a national support for the national team in 2010 for the World Cup (hopefully captained by Jay of course!).
What a waste of talent. His moving to the back water of proffesional football and more than likely been convinced by that bean pole of a wife. She didnt want to come back to the UK because of the weather. A move in Europe would not help her as she finds the queens english hard enough to master so the obvious choice was the USA - good weather and a language that suits her own lazy style. I hope it dosent all end in tears..............
I'd like to get the odds on a Beckham divorce! Mrs B getting half that income over the next 5 years as a settlement! Got him right where she wants him.
Don't forget that a very large chunk of that money comes from Image rights, and he has an awful lot of sponsership contracts.
he says he wants to bring football to the US, i say he is not the way to do t. their attitudes to football are bad enough already - see the post earlier about their 'winning' mentality. if he goes there it will just make all of them support one team - la galaxy. and with him and their money - la galaxy will walk to the title. it all ends up in a one horse race, ruining american 'soccer' and its future. they also need to adjust their rules. how come they can have all these strange draft systems yet we aren't allowed to introduce video replays?
if legends such as pele, best, beckanbaurer, moore, cruyf etc could not get them to love football and beckham does, it goes to show the stat of the modern game. he does not need the money. i bet within the next year his misses suddenly tries an acting career and gets on the dros like desperate houswives
I say good luck to anyone no matter how good or bad they are in their chosen proffession if they are able to get a sizeable income . Its what the free market is all about . What would you guys say if some company 4000 miles away offered you 100 times what you were really worth to go and work for them for 5 years ? I'd snatch their arms off and ask how high they wanted me to jump. If some dumb asses want to pay through their teeth for his services so be it. I know who has the biggest smile on their faces tonight and it aint me and my family (although we are smiling).
