A contract that makes $55M to Meche look rational:

[MusicMan]

 Beckham to get 5/$250M from LA Galaxy

[Bench]

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Beckham to get 5/$250M from LA Galaxy

From what I hear, the salary is actually only $10 mil per year, with the rest coming from a stake in commercial endorsements, merchandise sales, and a share of the team itself.

I'll say one thing about this deal: I like soccer and all, but I've never been to an MLS game, and barely considered going to a Dynamo game last season, but when the Beckham and the Galaxy come to Robertson Stadium, I expect I will be there.

[tophfar]

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I'll say one thing about this deal: I like soccer and all, but I've never been to an MLS game, and barely considered going to a Dynamo game last season, but when the Beckham and the Galaxy come to Robertson Stadium, I expect I will be there.

if you really "like soccer and all" but couldnt drag yourself to a dynamo game, but will go just because Mr. Posh Spice comes into town, you may wanter to re-examine what it is about soccer that you "like and all'.

[Lefty]

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if you really "like soccer and all" but couldnt drag yourself to a dynamo game, but will go just because Mr. Posh Spice comes into town, you may wanter to re-examine what it is about soccer that you "like and all'.

Especially given that the Dynamo have 2 players who are head & shoulders better players than Posh is today.

[Bench]

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I'll say one thing about this deal: I like soccer and all, but I've never been to an MLS game, and barely considered going to a Dynamo game last season, but when the Beckham and the Galaxy come to Robertson Stadium, I expect I will be there.

if you really "like soccer and all" but couldnt drag yourself to a dynamo game, but will go just because Mr. Posh Spice comes into town, you may wanter to re-examine what it is about soccer that you "like and all'.
 

I'm the type of casual fan that could be swayed by this deal. I watch several Champions League games each year, especially the semi-finals and finals, I watch every game of the World Cup and all those shown here of the Euro Cup and follow their qualifications fairly closely, catch the occassional Saturday morning Premiership game, and even watched the Dynamo's second semi-final leg  and final last season. MLS never really appealed to me, as my casual interest was fulfilled by European and global events. Going to see one of the more significant players of recent times is enough to put MLS on the map and get me to a game. You don't have to be rabid about something to be interested.

[Tralfaz]

Head and shoulders may be a bit strong.  Beckham, while no longer in his prime, is not even a year removed of being the CAPTAIN of England.  I think the two players you are talking about, Ching (?), who is not even a full time starter for the US (yet) and DeRosario who is still unproven on the world stage are super player, but let's keep this in perspective.  This is a BIG deal for the MLS.  Fringe fans are exactly who they are trying to attract with this signing.

[Lefty]

Yeah, head & shoulders was prolly a bit strong.  The Beckham I watched in the WC was a shell of his former self, largely ineffective at anything other than set pieces.  

But I'm not criticising the signing really.  They need to bring in new fans & increase exposure, the only real way to do that is to bring in a few recognizable big names...and the only big names they're going to get are the aged & fading.

Did Ronaldo officially sign in Saudi, or is it just an offer?

[Curly]

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I'll say one thing about this deal: I like soccer and all, but I've never been to an MLS game, and barely considered going to a Dynamo game last season, but when the Beckham and the Galaxy come to Robertson Stadium, I expect I will be there.

if you really "like soccer and all" but couldnt drag yourself to a dynamo game, but will go just because Mr. Posh Spice comes into town, you may wanter to re-examine what it is about soccer that you "like and all'.
 

I'd go for the liquor and the fights...and then maybe pay attention to what's happening on the field.

[CarolinaStro]

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Did Ronaldo officially sign in Saudi, or is it just an offer?

No, Luis Figo signed there.  Ronaldo is rumored to be NY bound.

[tophfar]

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Head and shoulders may be a bit strong.  Beckham, while no longer in his prime, is not even a year removed of being the CAPTAIN of England.  

A captaincy that many believed he not only didnt deserve, but was a member of a team that many thought he shouldnt have been on.

I'm not trying to knock the guy, all I'm saying is that if someone is going to "like soccer" but cant watch the dynamo, just for the soccer, then maybe they dont really "like soccer".

The dynamo, as far the MLS goes, are pretty damn good and are fun to watch for their own sake.  

That's the problem with these gimmick signings, once the novelty of having Bend It come through town wears off, people will stop coming.  

Hell if it werent for the movie and his marrige to Her Hotness, not a single soul on this side of the pond would have even had a CLUE as to who he is, or talk about going to watch him play the football.

[Tralfaz]

Deserved, didn't deserve, many people didn't think he should have been. Regardless of that, he was.  You ARE knocking him, and to some extent he does deserves that.  England laid a fat egg in Germany and he was the Captain.  I think many more point the finger of blame at Sven Goran Erickson than the team Captain.  Beckham was brilliant in his prime and on the 06 squad still possesed one of the most deadly free kicks in the game.  

Beckham is not a big deal because of the movie or because Posh is hot, because firstly Posh is NOT that hot, and secondly the movie was not that big.  Beckham transcends the sport because he is a marketing juggernaut.  He is Team Beckham.  This is not a gimmick signing, he has signed the biggest contract in the history of US sports.  

Now that being said, I totally agree with you that The Dynamo are a really good team and Beck's will make more people aware of this when they kick the crap out of the Galaxy every time they meet next year.

[tophfar]

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Deserved, didn't deserve, many people didn't think he should have been. Regardless of that, he was.  You ARE knocking him, and to some extent he does deserves that.  England laid a fat egg in Germany and he was the Captain.  I think many more point the finger of blame at Sven Goran Erickson than the team Captain.  Beckham was brilliant in his prime and on the 06 squad still possesed one of the most deadly free kicks in the game.  

Beckham is not a big deal because of the movie or because Posh is hot, because firstly Posh is NOT that hot, and secondly the movie was not that big.

seriously, in the US, he would have been a complete unknown if neither of those things happened.  to claim otherwise seriously overestimates the amount of attention paid to international soccer here in this country.

and "bend it like beckham" not that big?  ask kiera knightly what that movie did for her career and tell her it was "not that big".

and no, the point i as attempting to make, the the "knock" i was attempting to accomplish, was the point of the "i like soccer" crowd who wouldnt be caught dead at a dynamo game but will do so because there is some name they've seen on that there teevee playing.

the MLS is craving, desperate for international respecatibility, to draw players that from other countries.  so they are going to do whatever they need to get it.  i mean hell the rule change that allowed it to happen in the MLS has been named "The Beckham Rule" for chrissakes.  so yes, there is nothing about this that isnt a gimmick.

the name is purely for the attention of the american crowd, the amount of the conract is purely for the attention of the international players.  that's it.

that's not going to stop him from being a pretty damn good player in the MLS, even maybe one of the better ones.  but to call him brilliant in his prime is a little overstating it.  he's never been on the par of ronaldo, ronaldinho, zidane,et al.

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Beckham transcends the sport because he is a marketing juggernaut.  He is Team Beckham.

exactly.

[bubba]

Men's soccer in the U.S. is not going to catch on like it has internationally because of Title IX.  Men's college soccer are programs are being cut and womens' programs added to equalize the number of athletic scholarships.  Young soccer players or their parents realize this and boys quit playing at a fairly early age.  This is fine with me. however, because I have three young daughters who are all very good soccer players.  Boys generally drop out of soccer at around the age that they begin to commit seriously to football, baseball, or basketball.  Thus, the USA women win World Cups and the men seldom win a game in top international competition.

[Bench]

I guess you think this is somehow wrong, but there are a lot of people in this country who enjoy soccer, follow and discuss European soccer, and have never had enough interest in the MLS to regularly attend their matches. Signing a major European player is enough to pique their interest to the point of attendance.

And obviously you realize that it's not that I "can't watch" the Dynamo (I mentioned that I watched them last year (of course, their only year in existence)), but I never decided just to head out there. Going to see a two-time World Player of the Year runner-up and star player is enough to push my interest into action.

And to say nobody would have heard of Beckham without his marriage to a spice girl and a movie bearing his name in title is simply fatuous. You really think that when the movie came out people thought "Bend it like whaaa? I better go look that up!"?

Good grief. You are acting like some kid who thinks his favorite indie band "sold out." This is a big moment for the MLS, you should happy for them.

[Limey]

The Guardian's football wits' verdict on the Beckham move:

WORST IN SHOW

According to the Battersea Dogs' Home website, "giving a home to a rescue animal is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have". However, they warn: "It is important to know and feel that you are ready to take on the commitment of another life, a life that will be totally dependent on you for up to 15 years." Or just five, if the mangy mutt in question answers to the name Becks. For this afternoon, it emerged that flea-bitten England and Real Madrid has-been David Beckham will up stick (or Victoria, as she is also known) from Spain and go to the USA for 1,825 final bumper pay-days with LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.

"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," parped Becks. "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." It's no big surprise that Becks opted to take the Yankee dollar - after all, the deal in question is worth a wallet-busting, jaw-dropping ?128m (over ?492,000 a week! ?70,285 a day! ?2,928 an hour!) to the washed-up 31-year-old who, even in his sari-wearing, Brylcreemed, petulant pomp, was one of the most over-rated players ever to kick a football.

It should go without saying that the Real Madrid failure claims to be making the move for football reasons, and he is no doubt drawn to the US by the mouthwatering prospect of lining out with Galaxicos such as Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones in a club that clearly plans to transform itself from a team of obscure no-hopers to an international laughing stock. "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 droned, before adding that, in the meantime: "I will continue to give 100% to my coach, team-mates and fans at Real Madrid."

And while the Fiver looks forward to seeing Beckham cheering extra hard from his seat in the Bernabeu stands for the rest of the season, his move has somewhat overshadowed the inexplicable rehoming of fellow mongrels Djimi Traore* (Portsmouth from Charlton for ?1m), Jon Stead (Sheffield United from Sunderland for ?750,000) and Ben Thatcher (Charlton from Manchester City, undisclosed). Before news broke of the former England skipper's move to Hollywood broke, we incorrectly assumed they'd be the most preposterous transfer stories we'd hear today.

* FYI, the hapless Traore (pronounced "tray-or-ee") earned the not-so-rare privilege of having a song sung about him by his home fans:

Don't blame it on the sunshine
Don't blame it on the moonlight
Don't blame it on the good times
Blame it on Traore

He just can't
He just can't
He just can't control his feet.
etc.

[toddthebod]

Was it big when the Cosmos signed Pele?  Of course it was.  People actually started paying attention to the NASL.  Think of Beckham like Pele.

[Limey]

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Head and shoulders may be a bit strong.  Beckham, while no longer in his prime, is not even a year removed of being the CAPTAIN of England.  I think the two players you are talking about, Ching (?), who is not even a full time starter for the US (yet) and DeRosario who is still unproven on the world stage are super player, but let's keep this in perspective.  This is a BIG deal for the MLS.  Fringe fans are exactly who they are trying to attract with this signing.

Just for the record, there were many, many people, fans (like me) and experts alike, who thought Beckham shouldn't have been in the England squad for years, let alone Captain (a job at which he sucked).

Beckham never had any pace, could never tackle, could never beat anyone decent on the dribble and could never head a ball.  Now he is even more limited, reduced to being a one-trick pony: dead ball specialist (excluding penalities - at which he sucks), and he powers there too have faded notably.

[Limey]

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Did Ronaldo officially sign in Saudi, or is it just an offer?

No, Luis Figo signed there.  Ronaldo is rumored to be NY bound.

MLS changed the rule to allow one exception to the salary cap.  Expect each franchise to have it's own designated has-been lined up for the new season.

[Limey]

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Deserved, didn't deserve, many people didn't think he should have been. Regardless of that, he was.  You ARE knocking him, and to some extent he does deserves that.  England laid a fat egg in Germany and he was the Captain.  I think many more point the finger of blame at Sven Goran Erickson than the team Captain.  Beckham was brilliant in his prime and on the 06 squad still possesed one of the most deadly free kicks in the game.

Erickson's squad selection was horrendous, and for that he gets an awful lot of the blame.  However, Beckham was one of the problems, not one of the solutions, in that squad selected by the randy Swede.  And Beckham hasn't been deadly at dead balls for years.

[toddthebod]

So Limey.  I suppose the biggest question for you is how bad is the American version of "footballers wives" going to be.

[Limey]

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So Limey.  I suppose the biggest question for you is how bad is the American version of "footballers wives" going to be.

Could anything be worse?  Maybe they'll dust of Joan Collins to play the superstar wife of an English has-been who totally unbalances a team by playing badly for enough money to make Solomon blush.

In the meantime, we'll have to make do with Ali G's interview of the Beckhams for the Brit version of Comic Relief.

[Arky Vaughan]

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the name is purely for the attention of the american crowd, the amount of the conract is purely for the attention of the international players.  that's it.

OK, but if it does draw more fans, even if they're not "real fans" in your eyes, then what's wrong with that?

[Tralfaz]

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but to call him brilliant in his prime is a little overstating it.  

I disagree.

The Link

[Limey]

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but to call him brilliant in his prime is a little overstating it.  

I disagree.

The Link

Gimme some time, a web connection and some editing software, and I'll put together a stunning highlight reel for Jason Lane.  It'll include a pennant-winning outfield put-out.

ETA:  That was, what, 5 goals in total on that reel?  The man's been playing in the pros since he was a teenager!  And the goal against Greece was extremely important almost entirely because he and the whole England team had played like dogshit, at home, against Greece, and were just about to be dumped out of the World Cup on their collectively overpaid and under-performing backsides.  Take a look at the scoreline and the clock on that highlight - he had played the previous 90+ minutes too.

Yes he was good a free kicks, but he was nowhere near automatic.  He score more than 10 goals in one season just once.  Once!  And (IIRC) he was the designated penalty taker ferchrissake!

End of rant.

[Limey]

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MLS changed the rule to allow one exception to the salary cap.  Expect each franchise to have it's own designated has-been lined up for the new season.

The latest from the wags at the Guardian's "Fiver" magazine:

DAVIDS DOES DALLAS

The filthy paparazzi who earn their living by rummaging through David Beckham's dustbin today confirmed that the former England captain recently discarded several empty milk cartons, a handful of used batteries and up to 83 bits of fluff - proof, if any were needed, that Goldenballs is serious about turning his back on superfluous material goods in order to selflessly devote himself to missionary work in the United States. And the 31-year-old footballer-turned-philanthropist spoke out to reiterate that point today.

Though visibly tired from almost 24 hours of high-fiving the agents who negotiated the sacrifice that will earn him just under $1m-per-week over the next five years, Beckham mustered enough earnestness to again tell hacks: "This move for me is not about the money, it's about making a difference in the US with the soccer." And having seamlessly dropped 'football' for 'soccer', the ever PR-savvy evangelist continued his sermon by adding: "Kids there are brought up with soccer to a certain age and then they seem to go into other areas. Hopefully that's what I'll be there for, to pass my experience on to them."

Beckham's trailblazing altruism has already inspired a slew of footballing old folks to follow his noble lead, with burger-bodied Brazilian striker Ronaldo being without doubt the biggest player to have immediately instructed his agents to hook him up with some MLS sucke ... sorry, club. "Football will only take off if Beckham's not the only one, you need a few more," explained French sage Arsenal Wenger, adding: "If American football wants to make a big leap, it will need an influx of big stars." His conscience duly pricked, elderly Spurs outcast Edgar Davids was another to answer America's call-to-alms. "We spoke to his agents and have been told he's available," whooped Dallas Burn boss Steve Morrow, almost as loudly as Davids and his agents whooped when they heard they may be off to the home of the whopping salary.

[Foghorn]

He married a Spice Girl.  Seriously, isn't that all you really need to know about him?  Its the equivalent of someone marrying Britney Spears, or Paris Hilton.  

If your heart falls in locve with a SPice Girl, you might as well eat nothing but Big Macs for a year so you can get a new babboon heart or somthing mechanical to replace the one you have that is clearly malfunctioning.

[Don]

Ali G asking Posh if she'd been "backdoored" by Beckham was pretty freaking funny to me.

I would love to hear how they had been prepped for this "interview."

[Bench]

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His conscience duly pricked, elderly Spurs outcast Edgar Davids was another to answer America's call-to-alms. "We spoke to his agents and have been told he's available," whooped Dallas Burn boss Steve Morrow, almost as loudly as Davids and his agents whooped when they heard they may be off to the home of the whopping salary.

I always thought it was odd (almost Alanis-esque ironic) that a dreadlocked dude who lives in the Netherlands somehow ended up getting glaucoma.

[Limey]

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Ali G asking Posh if she'd been "backdoored" by Beckham was pretty freaking funny to me.

I would love to hear how they had been prepped for this "interview."

I don't think they knew exactly what he was going to say, but they had to know that they were going to get the Ali G treatment.  They willingly threw themselves onto the barbs of Cohen's wit in the spirit of charity.

[MusicMan]

 

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he is no doubt drawn to the US by the mouthwatering prospect of lining out with Galaxicos such as Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones in a club that clearly plans to transform itself from a team of obscure no-hopers to an international laughing stock.

This is just outstanding stuff.

[pravata]

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he is no doubt drawn to the US by the mouthwatering prospect of lining out with Galaxicos such as Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones in a club that clearly plans to transform itself from a team of obscure no-hopers to an international laughing stock.

This is just outstanding stuff.

At what point do we realize that some people only do things for the money simply because they can think of no other motivation?

[austro]

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he is no doubt drawn to the US by the mouthwatering prospect of lining out with Galaxicos such as Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones in a club that clearly plans to transform itself from a team of obscure no-hopers to an international laughing stock.

This is just outstanding stuff.

Agreed.  I'm hoping that we can dust it off in some form for the Cubbie preview.

[Limey]

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he is no doubt drawn to the US by the mouthwatering prospect of lining out with Galaxicos such as Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones in a club that clearly plans to transform itself from a team of obscure no-hopers to an international laughing stock.

This is just outstanding stuff.

The Guardian sports writers spend every day bashing many nails squarely on their heads with wit and humour.  They're the anti-Chronicle.

[tophfar]

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the name is purely for the attention of the american crowd, the amount of the conract is purely for the attention of the international players.  that's it.

OK, but if it does draw more fans, even if they're not "real fans" in your eyes, then what's wrong with that?

are the cell phone talking camera hogs behind home plate any less real than those of us here?  yet we bitch constantly about their, and others, unworthiness to attend an astros game.

it would not be a bad thing if Beckham still had some repspectability internationally to draw actual high profile players, and the skills on the pitch to back up the size of the contract.

[Arky Vaughan]

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are the cell phone talking camera hogs behind home plate any less real than those of us here?  yet we bitch constantly about their, and others, unworthiness to attend an astros game.

Who's we? Many of them may not know much about baseball, but I've never contended that they're unworthy to attend games. They buy the tickets that help ring the turnstiles to three million fans per year and make the club able to afford a $100-million payroll.

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it would not be a bad thing if Beckham still had some repspectability internationally to draw actual high profile players, and the skills on the pitch to back up the size of the contract.

If Beckham had the same skills he used to have he might not be leaving Europe, right? So it's a bit of a sideshow, but nobody's explained what's wrong with that.

[Arky Vaughan]

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This is just outstanding stuff.

The Guardian sports writers spend every day bashing many nails squarely on their heads with wit and humour.  They're the anti-Chronicle.



Sounds like they're a bit snarky that Beckham's getting $250 million and they're not.

[Bench]

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are the cell phone talking camera hogs behind home plate any less real than those of us here?  ye we bitch constantly about their, and others, unworthiness to attend an astros game.

I'd point out the obvious difference between having one's mild interest in a league piqued and acting like a jackass, but it's quite clear you're only intersted in thumping your chest and wailing.

[Limey]

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Sounds like they're a bit snarky that Beckham's getting $250 million and they're not.

They're snarky about everybody - rich and poor alike.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

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and "bend it like beckham" not that big?  ask kiera knightly what that movie did for her career and tell her it was "not that big".

I asked Ms Knightley just that. She said,"Before Bend It Like Beckham's release I had already appeared in several other productions, not to mention Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in '99, and had finished filming Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."
 
So when I told her that Bend It Like Beckham was not that big, she replied, "Well, it did a hell of a lot better  box office than Spice World now didn't it."

[Limey]

From The Brushback:

LOS ANGELES--Posh Beckham, wife of British soccer star David Beckham, reportedly developed a severe eating disorder just five minutes after her plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday. A witness said the former Spice Girl rushed into the bathroom and vomited up a bag of peanuts she ate on the plane, then commented that she is ?so fat.?

?Posh got off the plane, took a look around at some of the other females in the area, and immediately ran into the bathroom to throw up,? said the witness. ?When she came out, she looked pale and sick. Her assistant asked if she needed medical attention and she was like ?No, I?m not sick. I?m just fat. I?m a fat, disgusting cow. Look at me. Look at how fat my face is. Everybody?s staring at me. Get me out of here!? Then they just ran out, and the whole time she was covering her face and her belly.?

Beckham?s handlers were optimistic about the situation, however, explaining that an eating disorder would help her fit in among LA?s elite. They also suggested Beckham make a sex tape and become an alcoholic.