He hasn't been playing much with Real Madrid and it looks like he'll be coming to the US to play later this year. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=399471&cc=5901
Well, what do you know... we get to see him twice a year if this happens ... unless, of course, he's INJURED...
HOLY S***! Where in the hell does the Galaxy and MLS come up with $50 million per year? They're really banking on him becoming a huge draw. It will be great for the crowds wherever he plays, but this is ridiculous. I just don't see how this works in the long term. The glare will fade after the first year or so and this will become the NASL all over again. That said, it will be interesting to see him work with Donovan. I do think Beckham is one of the more overrated players in history, but that doesn't mean he isn't very good. Get your Dynamo v. Galaxy tickets now. They'll be very hard to come by.
I think only about $10 million a year is salary, the rest is probably endorsement money. Adidas is a huge sponsor of his and are probably giving him a nice chunk of money for coming here. And I agree that he's overrated, but he's now arguably one of the best players in MLS, plus his marketability is probably more important to MLS than his skill. Houston starts their season against LA, so if he really doesn't come until August we'll miss that chance, but if he's here then that will be his first game for LA.
That was the only thing I could figure. Between Adidas, Gillette, and whomever else will be paying a large portion of his salary. I hope this does well. I also hope that he helps to develop Landon Donovan and convinces him that he needs to be playing in England and to quit being such a p***y. I wonder if the Galaxy will let him play in his more natural position on the flanks. I guess if you want to be on national tv this season, you'll have to be playing the Galaxy.
Reyna may be coming home as well... Reyna Set for City Exit Claudio Reyna seems certain to have played his last match for Manchester City after Stuart Pearce confirmed they were working towards terminating the player's contract. The American midfielder, 33, has expressed a wish to return home for family reasons with his wife pregnant. Pearce said: "We are speaking with his representatives about the termination of his contract. "It is to do with family reasons, nothing sinister. "I can understand the reasons he gave to me. "He believes his family has to come before his professional career at this stage. "It is a case of working out a deal agreeable to player and club." Reyna has been troubled by injuries and has not played since December. Pearce added: "He has been a decent player and the frustrating thing for any manager is to lose someone when you are not expecting it. "Before he got the injury as we were approaching Christmas, Claudio was playing really well." My guess is that he ends up with Red Bull to be close to home. Could make for an interesting rivalry. The most overrated player in the world against the most overrated American player ( ).
He recently bought a house in New Jersey, and his dad has said that he'd be signing with Red Bull. Plus he'll get to play for Arena. Columbus is also trying to get McBride, but I don't see that one happening anytime in the next couple of years.
I think he's in LA for his (and victoria's) movie career. I see it lasting a year or two then he goes back to England for a cameo with a big club and then retirement.
What's more interesting is that when he was with Real Madrid they had a 50% share in his licensing. Can you imagine Lebron having to fork over 50 mil of his 100 million dollar endorsement deal?
Burberry Rodeo Drive is increasing inventory in preparation for the chav invasion. http://www.slate.com/id/2145165/
WOW! First RONALDO to SAUDI ARABIA....http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=122924 and now this!
I'll take any international stars coming over to the MLS. I'd like to see us eventually have a league near the level of the Premiership, Bundesliga, Serie A, etc. and I think this is the first step in getting there. At this point, I think we can only get stars who are in the twilight of their career and come to the US more for the lifestyle rather than the soccer. But you've got to start somewhere.
That also makes you wonder if other big name players are more attracted to MLS now, we may not be able to match salary or quality with the top leagues but not taking half of their image rights is probably a big deal. It's also possible that Beckham had enough pull to get a better deal than most, so 50% could be the high end of what players get in Europe. Of course they'd be bigger celebrities in other countries and would get better sponsorship deals there, so it'd be a double edged sword.
