Beckham to MLS

[DrHibbert]

Huh. I didn't see this one coming.

Any thoughts? It would be cool to see MLS pick up some steam. Admittedly, I hardly ever watch it. Maybe if there was a local team...

[Osceana]

Shocked is all i can say.... Shocked....

I hear Tom Cruise had a hand in it. Beckham was PMSing about only starting several times out of 25 in Madrid and when he got injured he couldn't go to Italy to see Cruise's wedding.

It's all down-hill from here. This is basically his retirement plan, as i see it.

What a bitch.

:no:

[i]

"several" = 7 times.

I'm surprised how much news this got in the USA. At least four different people mentioned this to me today.

He's over the hill anyway, just following in the footsteps of other past-their-prime plays.

What's scary is his association with Tom Cruise. D: two great minds there, folks

[Drunkenmaster]

I don't know anything about soccer, but is $250 mill the most insane soccer contract ever?

[Drunkenmaster]

I believe it works out as $50 mill a year over the next 5 years. I thought the Yankees were crazy.

[Nak Nak]

He'll probably do ok in a league where Landon Donovan is considered a great player. Not the right sort of player to set MLS alight though.

[i]

I thought Valderrama was good in the pre-MLS league.

Anyone see the Tottenham-Newcastle game today?? Best Premier League game I've seen in a while.

[El Loto]

Ahem the darts were on. Too exciting I tell thee.

[Herr Lipp]

I think he's laughing all teh way to the bank, and good on him - he's not even in the top 50 players in the world anymore (hazarding a guess). Isn't he getting paid more than any other american, nay, world sports star in any sport? Tiger Woods doesnt count as he gets majority of his dough from sponsorship and winnings. Beckham is salaried to the rafters.

[DrHibbert]

He's getting 10M per year from LA, and the rest is in endorsements, amounting to 50M per year. So I suppose the fool is the American consumer. Or advertiser.

[The Tourist]

Apparently the rest of the players on his proposed new team get paid $2.5 million between them, a year. So for 25 players that's 100k a year, which is like £50k. How he's going to be paid that amount from a club that pays the rest of their players a relatively paltry amount is bizarre. Rather than embracing Beckham I'd think the other players would hate his guts. Just a thought.

[The Tourist]

I'm sure he'd be sitting rather comfortably if he ceased working today. He must have about 100 million already. Greedy bastard.

[DrHibbert]

The other players probably don't care so much because of the publicity he'll garner for their team. An assload (literally) of people have already started buying season tickets for MLS now. Stupid people, yes, but the money coming in isn't to see the other 25 players.

[DrHibbert]

Haha! He's going because he wants to be an actor.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070115/sp_nm/beckham_dc

[El Loto]

You will be really lucky if his wife DOESN'T start a new attempt at reviving her career.

[The Tourist]

perhaps they could write a sitcom, or use the scripts for the one that Mel B apparently wrote. Poor talentless Mel, her LA Kind of Mind isn't doing her any favours.

[DrHibbert]

I wish LA would trade him to a team somewhere like Arkansas or Wisconsin or something.

[Narcissistic Nihilist]

He's getting 10M per year from LA, and the rest is in endorsements, amounting to 50M per year. So I suppose the fool is the American consumer. Or advertiser.

He is there for his image and to get the MLS attention (not for his ability), not least of all in the US sports media. Having just come back from the states, it is (for now at least) working.

I think part of the deal involves Galaxy getting revenue from image rights, thats why the big contract. A lot of other players get about $12mill a year before bonuses, so it really isnt THAT huge in comparison.

[Herr Lipp]

Re: acting/general tv appearances: even though he sounds like a 13 year old boy, at least his accent won't be too much of a challenge for the yanks. They struggle with anything that isn't southern, or is too common..