David Beckham On His Way To Usa

[Tony]

[url="http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...399465&cc=5901"]http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...399465&cc=5901[/url]


ADRID, Spain -- Former England captain David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and sign a five-year deal for MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy, he told Reuters on Thursday.


"This week Real Madrid asked me to make a decision regarding my future and the offer to extend my contract for a further two seasons," Beckham said. "After discussing several options with my family and my advisers to either stay here in Madrid or join other major British and European teams, I have decided to join L.A. Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year."

Beckham, 31, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in June 2003, is the most famous player to sign up for Major League Soccer since it began in 1996.

He is also the biggest name player to move to club soccer in the United States since the likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff played in the now-defunct North American Soccer League in the 1970s and early '80s.

Beckham's deal is reported to be one of the biggest in global sport, worth more than $250 million over an undisclosed amount of time.

Beckham has soccer academies in London and Los Angeles. His wife Victoria, a former Spice Girl, was recently photographed househunting in Los Angeles.

"David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally," said Timothy Leiweke, president & CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy. "David is truly the only individual that can build the bridge between soccer in America and the rest of the world."

The news ends months of speculation about the future of the midfielder, whose contract with Real Madrid expires at the end of the season.

A starter since he joined Real Madrid, Beckham lost his place following the arrival of Italian coach Fabio Capello. He has started only five of Real's 16 league games this season and was known to be frustrated with his lack of opportunities in the first team.

The former Manchester United player said he was inspired by the challenge of cracking the American soccer market.

"I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own," he said.

But he insisted he would be giving his all for Real Madrid until the end of the season to try to win the major trophy that has eluded him since he joined the club in 2003.

"For the rest of this season I will continue to give 100 percent to my coach, teammates and fans, and I believe Fabio Capello will bring this club and its supporters the success they truly deserve," he said.

Beckham joined Real Madrid in 2003 after a successful run with Manchester United, where he won six league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League title. But Beckham did not win a single major trophy with the Spanish club, and his spell coincided with Madrid's worst slump since the early 1950s.

Real Madrid has had six coaches and three club presidents during Beckham's stay, but the club has made a fortune -- in part because of the star's position as a cultural icon for soccer fans and non-fans alike.

His marketability was emphasized by the hit movie "Bend It Like Beckham," even as his skills deteriorated with age.

Beckham's contract included a clause in which half his image rights would go to Real Madrid. That helped earn the club millions, allowing the Spanish team to overtake Manchester United as the biggest earner in world soccer.

Beckham led England to the quarterfinals of the World Cup last summer, scoring from a free kick in the second round to beat Ecuador 1-0. But he was taken off the field early in the second half against Portugal with ankle and Achilles tendon injuries, and then watched as his team was eliminated in a penalty shootout.

A day after the game, Beckham stepped down as captain of the team -- a post he had held for 58 of his 94 international appearances. Then, on Aug. 11, England coach Steve McClaren dropped Beckham from the team altogether, signaling the end of his international career.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

[Tony]

a semi bump..

at $50 Mil a year.. I am not sure if ANY athlete has ever made $50 Mil a year. I have heard the rumors of this and that player coming to MLS.. (Beckham, Ronaldo, Figo).. but.. $50 Mil a Year? an MLS team? Forking over a total of a Quarter of a BILLION dollars when his contract is all said in done? That's a Million Per week!

[-I---Love]

all I can say is I hope I get tickets to a game now to see Beckham play in the US...and if Beckham can turn soccer in the US into real football then we're gonna witness a miracle.

[SRMiller]

[quote name='-I---Love' post='1163490' date='Jan 13 2007, 01:03 PM']
all I can say is I hope I get tickets to a game now to see Beckham play in the US...and if Beckham can turn soccer in the US into real football then we're gonna witness a miracle.
[/quote]

My priest should be excited - former Manchester player going to the States, since my priest is in the States now, too. And now that I'm close to Manchester, Beckham's there. Such is life.

[SJRod55]

It is a shame that a football player can receiove 25 Million a week when so many people, with so many responsibilities scrape by on low wages and less recognition. No one ever said the world was fair, but it seems indecent to pay anyone so much.

[SRMiller]

[quote name='Rod' post='1163494' date='Jan 13 2007, 02:10 PM']
It is a shame that a football player can receiove 25 Million a week when so many people, with so many responsibilities scrape by on low wages and less recognition. No one ever said the world was fair, but it seems indecent to pay anyone so much.
[/quote]

I do agree with that, to an extent. I think those that make tons of money are given a chance to help others through giving to charities and the like, and it would be wonderful if all of them take it. For example, I heard (don't know how accurate, but it would be nice), that Rick Warren the Purpose Driven Life person, lives on 10% of what he makes and gives the rest to the church and charity.

[Jaime]

soccer stinks

Edited January 13, 2007 by Era Might

[-I---Love]

Beckham to Own an MLS Soccer Team?
Submitted by Julie on Sat, 2007-01-13 08:43.
[url="http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/1040"]http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/1040[/url]

It was recently announced that David Beckham had signed a five-year contract with the LA Galaxy soccer team, so that he can finish up his career in the United States. And now it has been revealed that as a stipulation in his contract, Beckham will be offered the opportunity to own a MLS soccer team when his contract is up.

Sources reveal that Beckham wants to leave a legacy in the US, long after his playing career is over with. Beckham is determined to put American soccer on the map, and having his name associated with a team could do wonders. He's already convinced Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo to join him in the MLS next season. Ronaldo will be joining the New York Red Bulls in the summer, and another European footballer, Luis Figo, is arranging a move to the MLS.

Beckham's involvement with the MLS and move to LA has already gained interest in the sport, and raised the profile of the league. It is rumored that league chiefs are investigating the number of "designated" players allowed to two per team. As it currently stands, MLS teams are allowed to sign one "superstar" each. But now they are thinking that they may be able to increase intrest if they can steal away some players from Europe.

A team could be set up for Beckham at the end of his contract if the league decides to create a new franchise. This has been done before, when the team Chivas USA were formed to appeal to Mexican immigrants.


As far as wages are concerned - it is absolutely indecent, and it should be different - that debate is old - but it is what it is - and I still like to watch sports.

Edited January 13, 2007 by -I---Love

[Church Punk]

Good for Becks. Did anyone hear...Toronto will be getting an MLS team!

[Era Might]

We don't care about soccer in America, and I don't think we ever will. David Beckham won't change that.

[brendan1104]

[quote name='hot stuff' post='1163508' date='Jan 13 2007, 08:48 AM']
soccer stinks
[/quote]

[Tony]

[quote name='Era Might' post='1163533' date='Jan 13 2007, 11:13 AM']
We don't care about soccer in America, and I don't think we ever will. David Beckham won't change that.
[/quote]

it's all about how it's marketing.. the NASL deteriorated because of bad marketing.

Edited January 13, 2007 by Tony

[Jaime]

[quote name='brendan1104' post='1163534' date='Jan 13 2007, 10:14 AM']

[/quote]

yeah I'm not sure why that got edited either.

Stinks doesn't quite do it for my hatred of soccer

[Tony]

it wouldn't help if we won a World Cup too.. that for sure would spark an interest in the game as a whole. I am sure there are lots of closet fans out there that say they hate soccer.. but can't get enough of the World Cup every 4 years

[King's Rook's Pawn]

Soccer/football is a boring game. I'm sorry, it really is, especially professional soccer/football. How it became so popular around the world is a total mystery to me. Kicking a ball around a field in nets??? Big whoop! There are so many more interesting, exciting, nuanced sports out there, even hockey, which is somewhat similar to soccer. But what about baseball? Now, there is a sport of complexity, strategy, and atmosphere. Soccer? Even the soccer ball itself is boring: black-and-white pattern of geometric shapes? What's that about? Sounds like the national sport of the New World Order to me. That would, at least, explain it's popularity. Okay, I'm joking about that last one. But seriously, Europeans, the fact that your most beloved sport involves guys in short shorts kicking a ball to each other in an embarrasment to the first degree. If your going to have a sport so ridiculously, idiotically popular that people are trampled to death over can't you come up with something more imaginative than that?

You guys should go back to cricket, jousting, discus-throwing and bocce ball; the most boring match in any one those sports is twice as interesting as the most exciting soccer game in history. Actually, all of Europe might as well just turn back the clock to at least 1913 and start over, becuase it's been all downhill since then (no offense). And soccer's ludicrous popularity is indicative of it. What's next: tiddly-wink hooligans?