Heard on the radio earlier a Real Madrid club spokesman saying Beckham's contract wouldn't be renewed in the summer .
I'm sure they'll be a few clubs after him , But i reckon he'll go to the States , United won't go back for him , Arsenal a possibility ? .
Full Version: Beckham to leave Real Madrid .
I've been following this story today and I still can't tell what's up for sure, but it does sound like he's leaving:
A news story in Sporting Life UK from 2 hours ago says "No New deal For Becks": http://www.sportinglife.com/football/overs...mp;TEAMHD=spain
The AP from 35 minutes ago says "David Beckham still talking to Madrid over new contract": http://www.940news.com/nouvelles.php?cat=20&id=11031
Then you have Access Hollywood from about 30 minutes ago saying "David Beckham Negotiates Soccer Contract, Wife Posh House Hunts In LA": http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah3451.shtml
I would bet he ends up playing in America -- and LA sounds right -- to set himself up for possible TV/movie/commercial work after he retires and possibly revive his wife's career.
I agree , Any move to the states isn't going to be purely for a footballing reason . 'Brand Beckham' will be the main priority , And as they are already friends with the likes of Tom Cruise the move into those kind of circles sounds spot on .
Beckham signs with the Los Angeles Galaxy:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/11/D8MJ5SRG0.html
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2786923
"British news reports put the Galaxy deal at $250 million."
That's some serious coin.
Earlier I heard Stu Pearce saying he'd like to see him at Man City!
Yeah - dream on mate!
Yeah - dream on mate!
ITV News have just claimed that he's off to LA.
Last September, I started a thread called "Should David Beckham Join A Team In America?"
In my opening post in that thread, I explained what I meant by the thread title as follows: "In other words, is Beckham's career as a legitimate footballer finished?"
Beckham has now answered that question.
The following from the well-respected American sportsweekly Sports Illustrated explains the motivations of the LA Galaxy and Beckham and the ramifications of the signing:
QUOTE
Red-letter day
What Beckham's arrival will mean for MLS, U.S. soccer
Posted: Thursday January 11, 2007 11:18AM; Updated: Thursday January 11, 2007 1:29PM
Mark it down: Jan. 11, 2007 will forever be known as the day that Major League Soccer truly arrived on the world stage.
David Beckham, the world's most recognizable soccer star, is leaving Real Madrid to join MLS' Los Angeles Galaxy in August on a five-year contract. And he's doing it the age of 31, it should be noted, not at, say, 35, when the world would simply scoff at a washed-up European star coming Stateside for a vacation and an easy paycheck.
Beckham's signing isn't necessarily a surprise. I wrote back in October that a team in MLS -- most likely the Galaxy -- needed to make it happen sooner rather than later. Here's what Beckham's arrival means:
• MLS just got noticed in the domestic and international realm. Beckham's signing isn't exactly the same thing as the Cosmos's signing of Pelé in the 1970s, but it's awfully close to it. Pelé was the greatest player the game had ever seen, while Becks has never been considered the planet's best player. But Beckham is a much better player than some of his critics are willing to admit -- while he has lost a bit of pace, he was still effective at last year's World Cup and remains one of the world's best free kick-takers. And let's be honest: the marketing opportunities here are enormous. Expect to see Galaxy jerseys with Beckham's name in every corner of the world.
• From a domestic perspective, landing Beckham gives MLS a credibility that it has never had with the American sports fan, who demands to see the world's biggest stars in the sports it cares about. Beckham is a great match for L.A., where Galaxy games will become A-list events with the celebrity sightings you usually associate with Lakers games.
• Beckham may not be the only star coming to MLS. Now that Beckham has decided to make the move, his stamp of approval for the league will make it much easier for other international stars to come on board. MLS's newly installed designated-player rule -- the so-called Beckham rule -- allows each team to pay an unlimited salary to one player. DP slots are tradeable, and the New York Red Bulls now have two of them. In other words, look for Bruce Arena's Red Bulls (and perhaps a few others) to create some major buzz of their own with a big-name signing or two: Ronaldo, the all-time leading goal scorer in World Cup history and Beckham's current teammate at Real Madrid, has long been rumored as a target.
• Will Beckham's signing make the soccer that much better around the league? Not on its own. He's only one player, after all, and MLS needs to continue making strides when it comes to youth development. But from a soccer perspective Beckham will be a useful player in the midfield of the Galaxy, which frankly needs the help after missing the playoffs for the first time in league history last season. The image of Beckham sending crosses onto the head of Landon Donovan for goals is the sort of thing that will be replayed on televisions around the world.
• Are there any possible downsides to bringing Beckham on board? Sure. Overspending on international stars is what eventually doomed the old NASL, and there's no going back for MLS after this move. At the same time, though, there appear to be more rules in place -- not least the league's single-entity structure -- which should prevent wild bidding wars between teams. As for other risks, is it possible that Becks could be a bust on the field here? I guess, but it's not likely. The league has a long ways to go, but it's still good enough that he won't be able to coast here. Besides, I also think that Beckham's pride will keep him from loafing. If I know him well enough, I think he'll try to show people in Madrid and in England that he's still worth something on the field.
Whatever happens, today is a red-letter day for soccer in America, for MLS and specifically for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Find this article at:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...l/01/11/beckham
What Beckham's arrival will mean for MLS, U.S. soccer
Posted: Thursday January 11, 2007 11:18AM; Updated: Thursday January 11, 2007 1:29PM
Mark it down: Jan. 11, 2007 will forever be known as the day that Major League Soccer truly arrived on the world stage.
David Beckham, the world's most recognizable soccer star, is leaving Real Madrid to join MLS' Los Angeles Galaxy in August on a five-year contract. And he's doing it the age of 31, it should be noted, not at, say, 35, when the world would simply scoff at a washed-up European star coming Stateside for a vacation and an easy paycheck.
Beckham's signing isn't necessarily a surprise. I wrote back in October that a team in MLS -- most likely the Galaxy -- needed to make it happen sooner rather than later. Here's what Beckham's arrival means:
• MLS just got noticed in the domestic and international realm. Beckham's signing isn't exactly the same thing as the Cosmos's signing of Pelé in the 1970s, but it's awfully close to it. Pelé was the greatest player the game had ever seen, while Becks has never been considered the planet's best player. But Beckham is a much better player than some of his critics are willing to admit -- while he has lost a bit of pace, he was still effective at last year's World Cup and remains one of the world's best free kick-takers. And let's be honest: the marketing opportunities here are enormous. Expect to see Galaxy jerseys with Beckham's name in every corner of the world.
• From a domestic perspective, landing Beckham gives MLS a credibility that it has never had with the American sports fan, who demands to see the world's biggest stars in the sports it cares about. Beckham is a great match for L.A., where Galaxy games will become A-list events with the celebrity sightings you usually associate with Lakers games.
• Beckham may not be the only star coming to MLS. Now that Beckham has decided to make the move, his stamp of approval for the league will make it much easier for other international stars to come on board. MLS's newly installed designated-player rule -- the so-called Beckham rule -- allows each team to pay an unlimited salary to one player. DP slots are tradeable, and the New York Red Bulls now have two of them. In other words, look for Bruce Arena's Red Bulls (and perhaps a few others) to create some major buzz of their own with a big-name signing or two: Ronaldo, the all-time leading goal scorer in World Cup history and Beckham's current teammate at Real Madrid, has long been rumored as a target.
• Will Beckham's signing make the soccer that much better around the league? Not on its own. He's only one player, after all, and MLS needs to continue making strides when it comes to youth development. But from a soccer perspective Beckham will be a useful player in the midfield of the Galaxy, which frankly needs the help after missing the playoffs for the first time in league history last season. The image of Beckham sending crosses onto the head of Landon Donovan for goals is the sort of thing that will be replayed on televisions around the world.
• Are there any possible downsides to bringing Beckham on board? Sure. Overspending on international stars is what eventually doomed the old NASL, and there's no going back for MLS after this move. At the same time, though, there appear to be more rules in place -- not least the league's single-entity structure -- which should prevent wild bidding wars between teams. As for other risks, is it possible that Becks could be a bust on the field here? I guess, but it's not likely. The league has a long ways to go, but it's still good enough that he won't be able to coast here. Besides, I also think that Beckham's pride will keep him from loafing. If I know him well enough, I think he'll try to show people in Madrid and in England that he's still worth something on the field.
Whatever happens, today is a red-letter day for soccer in America, for MLS and specifically for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Find this article at:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...l/01/11/beckham
In short, Beckham's playing ability and performance on the pitch are secondary to the reasons he was signed, and his actual task extends far beyond the pitch.
Beckham is undertaking a challenge with immense potential upside if he succeeds and negligible potential downside if he fails.
Much better players, such as Pele, Giorgio Chinaglia, Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer (though they were all older when they came to America), were unable to establish football/soccer as a major sport in America.
But Beckham might do it because he has a different gift that they didn't have: commercial appeal.
QUOTE(aboutblank1976 @ Jan 11 2007, 04:30 PM) 
Earlier I heard Stu Pearce saying he'd like to see him at Man City!
Yeah - dream on mate!
Bolton apparently were interested too . I don't think Beckham would ever consider City ! .
QUOTE(zoroaster @ Jan 11 2007, 04:12 PM)
Beckham signs with the Los Angeles Galaxy:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/11/D8MJ5SRG0.html
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2786923
"British news reports put the Galaxy deal at $250 million."
That's some serious coin.
That's £128 million for five years. £25 million per year. £492,000 per week. That's just stupid!
Beckham could cross a decent ball & take a good free kick, but he had little pace, couldn't head the ball & his close control was questionable. Far from being a complete footballer, he was lucky to have been playing in such a good Man Utd side. A good player, yes. A great player, no.
I agree that he is not worth anywhere near that much money as a player, but as I pointed out above, Beckham is not being paid for his ability on the pitch. He is being paid as a capital investment in the sport itself -- for his commercial appeal -- in the hope that he can propel football/soccer into a mainstream sport in America, which will translate into billions of dollars.
I think he was smart not to return to the Premiership or to any other first-class league. If he continued to play in a competitive league -- which under my definition doesn't include American football -- his age and loss of form would become more and more evident, talented youngsters with pace would toy with him, and he would ultimately be humiliated into retirement. I would place the American MLS on par with the English League One, which is ideal for an aging star.
This way, Beckham will be remembered as a star on a top Premiership club rather than a has been playing out his final days.
QUOTE(zoroaster @ Jan 11 2007, 09:00 PM)
I agree that he is not worth anywhere near that much money as a player, but as I pointed out above, Beckham is not being paid for his ability on the pitch. He is being paid as a capital investment in the sport itself -- for his commercial appeal -- in the hope that he can propel football/soccer into a mainstream sport in America, which will translate into billions of dollars.
I think he was smart not to return to the Premiership or to any other first-class league. If he continued to play in a competitive league -- which under my definition doesn't include American football -- his age and loss of form would become more and more evident, talented youngsters with pace would toy with him, and he would ultimately be humiliated into retirement. I would place the American MLS on par with the English League One, which is ideal for an aging star.
This way, Beckham will be remembered as a star on a top Premiership club rather than a has been playing out his final days.
Yes, I agree with you. It's an odd thing, this worship of 'celebrity'. Beckham & his wife are feted more for their celebrity than for the thing that got them there in the first place. I'm not too sure that this is altogether healthy. We see it here also on TV where the winner of Big Brother becomes famous not for any real talent or skill but just for winning it. One of the past winners (Jade, I think) is all over the tabloids this week & yet she's overweight, not particularly attractive, doesn't seem overburdened with grey matter & is about as funny as an ruptured appendix. Weird!
It turns out that Beckham is being paid only $50 million over five years (I don't know if "only" is a proper word here) for actually playing football.
Although the five-year deal is apparently worth $250 million, "at least 80 percent of that money has nothing to do with his kicking a ball for the Los Angeles Galaxy." http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinves...AM-CONTRACT.XML
So the bulk of the money is for his commercial appeal.
Posh has got a record deal out of it too. They are paying her on her advanced sales, she picked up the cheque yesterday for £3.64.
QUOTE(easylife @ Jan 12 2007, 06:09 AM)
Posh has got a record deal out of it too. They are paying her on her advanced sales, she picked up the cheque yesterday for £3.64.
It's the LA chicks as well.
QUOTE(easylife @ Jan 12 2007, 11:09 AM)
Posh has got a record deal out of it too. They are paying her on her advanced sales, she picked up the cheque yesterday for £3.64.
Hear a modelling contract offer by swan vesta is also in the pipeline ! .
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