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fistfullofsteel
Well-known member
Beckham to join LA GALAXY OF MLS
NO Freaking Way!!!! Beckman playing for MLS
- Thread starter fistfullofsteel
- Start date
fistfullofsteel
Well-known member
jnevin said:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=399465&cc=5901
MADRID, Spain -- Former England captain David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and sign a five-year deal for MLS side 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 told Reuters.
"After discussing several options with my family and my advisors to either stay here in Madrid or join other major British and European teams I have decided to join LA Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year.
"I would like to thank supporters and the people of Madrid who have made my family and I so welcome in my time here making this an extremely difficult decision to make.
"I have enjoyed my time here enormously and I am extremely grateful to the club for giving me an opportunity to play for such a great team and their amazing fans."
The 31-year-old, who joined Real from Manchester United in June 2003, is the most famous player to sign up for Major League Soccer since it began in 1996.
The deal is reported to be one of the biggest in global sport with Beckham set to earn more than $250 million over the duration of his contract.
The news ends months of speculation about the future of the midfielder whose contract with Real expires at the end of the season.
Having been first choice in the Real Madrid starting lineup since he moved to Spain, Beckham lost his place following the arrival of Italian coach Fabio Capello.
He has only started five of Real's 16 league games this season and was known to be frustrated with his lack of opportunities in the first team.
fistfullofsteel
Well-known member
what i don't get is that the team isn't probably worth $250 million, i wonder if the whole league is pitching in.
DieselGunz
New member
this will fill the seats tho even if it is to see a player on the backside of his career
fistfullofsteel
Well-known member
Did any of you asswipes read the fucking article??? Here is another one!
http://cbs.sportsline.com/soccer/story/9923369
LONDON -- David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season to join the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer in a five-year deal.
The move was announced Thursday following the end of talks on extending the 31-year-old English midfielder's contract with the Spanish club.
"This week, Real Madrid asked me to make a decision regarding my future and the offer to extend my contract by a further two seasons," Beckham said in a statement.
"After discussing several options with my family and advisers to either stay here at Madrid or join other major British and European clubs, I have decided to join the Los Angeles Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year."
Beckham's four-year contract with Madrid expires at the end of this season. He joined the team from Manchester United in 2003, where he had won six league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League title.
He hasn't won a major trophy since joining Madrid.
"I have enjoyed my time in Spain enormously and I am extremely grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity to play for such a great team and their amazing fans," Beckham said.
Beckham has been unhappy this season at Madrid under coach Fabio Capello. He has started only seven of 25 matches and was left off the squad for Thursday's Copa del Rey match against Real Betis.
Beckham has a soccer academy in Los Angeles. His wife Victoria, a former Spice Girl, was recently photographed house-hunting in Los Angeles.
MLS recently changed its rules on salary caps, clearing the way for Beckham to sign a lucrative deal.
"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," Beckham said.
http://cbs.sportsline.com/soccer/story/9923369
LONDON -- David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season to join the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer in a five-year deal.
The move was announced Thursday following the end of talks on extending the 31-year-old English midfielder's contract with the Spanish club.
"This week, Real Madrid asked me to make a decision regarding my future and the offer to extend my contract by a further two seasons," Beckham said in a statement.
"After discussing several options with my family and advisers to either stay here at Madrid or join other major British and European clubs, I have decided to join the Los Angeles Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year."
Beckham's four-year contract with Madrid expires at the end of this season. He joined the team from Manchester United in 2003, where he had won six league titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League title.
He hasn't won a major trophy since joining Madrid.
"I have enjoyed my time in Spain enormously and I am extremely grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity to play for such a great team and their amazing fans," Beckham said.
Beckham has been unhappy this season at Madrid under coach Fabio Capello. He has started only seven of 25 matches and was left off the squad for Thursday's Copa del Rey match against Real Betis.
Beckham has a soccer academy in Los Angeles. His wife Victoria, a former Spice Girl, was recently photographed house-hunting in Los Angeles.
MLS recently changed its rules on salary caps, clearing the way for Beckham to sign a lucrative deal.
"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," Beckham said.
deco
New member
perkele said:
its going to be a very short and luxurious deal. Might boost up soccer in USA a bit but there needs to be more then 1 ex-star player in the league.
This is something that most soccer players do towards the end of their career anyway, some like batistuta go to kuwait to collect a hefty paycheck. You also got the ones who go to their old teams they grew up with. Then you got players like stoichkov, valderamma, beckham and many more who just wanna live a good life and come to USA. Those are the final days for them so even though they have big names, their game is usually washed up.
The fact that MLS salary cap rules changed is a big thing though. With all the money USA has they can easily build a solid league. If someone really wanted to who is in charge, they could make the MLS the strongest league in south/north America. Not that much history behind it but if they dump some money into it, it shouldnt stop usa from building one.
deco said:
They got him because the Barca was also after him. In fact, Joan Laporta was elected with the promise of bringing Beckham. The Real Madrid went after him and the Barca got Ronaldinho instead. Now who's laughing lol He was a good player but never reached the level of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane, Figo... not even Del Piero. He'll be remembered for his free kicks, his wife, fashion/glamour and how poorly he (and others) did with the national team.
Longhorn85
New member
perkele said:
It didn't work with Pele and the NY Cosmos, maybe it will work this time around.
Americans are very familiar with soccer...they just don't like it. As a spectator sport, that is, at least compared to NFL, MLB, NBA, etc.
Delinquent
Well-known member
Longhorn85 said:
That just doesn't make sense to me though as it's nonstop action once you learn the in's and out's of the game. You get no commercials except for halftime which I think is a huge plus IMO
I mean, look at baseball for example. Now, I like baseball and even grew up playing it but soccer is much more packed with action than baseball to me.
I just wish that they wouldn't zoom in on the players so much when filming american soccer. When you watch a foreign game, the camera is zoomed out enough to see plays develop whereas American channels zooming on where the ball is and maybe a couple players directly involved in the action
so is golf if you include them walking toward the ball after they hit it. Action to us means somebody scoring points. A 0-0 football game is as boring as a 0-0 soccer game........well..........almost.Delinquent said:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/01/11/bc.soccer.beckham.contract/index.html?cnn=yes
Entertainment value
Becks isn't getting big bucks ($250M!) just for soccer
Posted: Thursday January 11, 2007 3:30PM; Updated: Thursday January 11, 2007 4:02PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Soccer star David Beckham will reportedly earn $250 million in a five-year deal to play in the United States -- but at least 80 percent of that money has nothing to do with his kicking a ball for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Although Beckham, who leaves Real Madrid at the end of the season, will become the highest paid player for Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States, MLS sources say his annual playing income is only in the "single-figure millions."
With Beckham getting paid up to $50 million over five years for playing soccer, where does the rest of the money come from?
"Most of the value is from David's worldwide endorsement," MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis said on Thursday. "That's a separate deal. That's his deal with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and 19 Entertainment. That's not something we're involved in.
"Obviously I think the feeling is that coming to the United States boosts the value of (the Beckham) brand and the revenues that can be generated from it, but that's not our business," he said. "It wasn't part of our contract discussions at all."
Beckham's playing contract falls well short of the big deals signed in Major League Baseball, where Alex Rodriguez is being paid $252 million and Derek Jeter $189 million, both over 10 years.
Scott Branvold, a professor in sports management at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, said the Beckham brand -- which includes the soccer player's wife, former Spice Girl pop star Victoria Beckham -- goes well beyond the game of soccer.
But he questioned whether Beckham truly could earn $200 million over five years through sponsorship and other business deals.
"Soccer has struggled so much in the United States that you certainly have to wonder whether there is any realistic possibility. Maybe he will do a reality show," he said.
"The fact that I would recognize who he is, and he hasn't really played in the United States, probably is commentary to the fact that his name is probably somewhat bigger than soccer itself," said Branvold.
Beckham earns about $7.7 million a year from Real Madrid and an estimated $30 million more from sponsorship deals with names such as Adidas, Gillette, Motorola and Pepsi, although 50 percent of his image rights go to the Spanish club.
"There are a lot of commercial elements in our deal with him -- the sale of jerseys and those types of things -- but when you are talking about the Beckham brand, where most of his revenue earning opportunities are, it's independent of the league," Gazidis said.
The 13 teams in Major League Soccer have an annual salary cap of $2.1 million for a roster of 18 players. But a new "designated player rule" -- dubbed the "Beckham rule" -- allows teams to pay above the salary cap for one player.
"We had a league in the late '70s and early '80s, the North American Soccer League, which went out of business because of uncontrolled spending by owners. This is not uncontrolled spending," said Gazidis, who handles player signings.
He said the league feels now is the right time to "strategically invest" in a name player and Beckham's presence would deliver value to MLS broadcast partners and sponsors and help drive up team values.
"But more importantly than all of that, he is a figure that has the ability to give soccer more cultural relevance in this country, and that's really what's driving this from our standpoint," Gazidis said.
Longhorn85
New member
Delinquent said:
Need more scoring opportunies. Make the net bigger? Fewer players?
Get rid of the little kids holding hands of the players as they walk onto the field and get some scantily clad cheerleaders.
Maybe they can come up with the soccer version of the 3 point shot.
Oh, and that offsides thing is annoying and hard to figure out.
ponyfitness
New member
Salary cap of 2.1 million for 18 players and he saunters in with a fat salary of 10 million at least? Think those other players who probably have to work a second job aren't going to be a little bit bitter? Never mind that the media attention certainly isn't going to be on the game or the league.
S
Spartacus
Guest
get Zidane to join the leaque now and it might have a chance
