Those dopes in L.A. paid 250 million for Beckham??? There's money down the toilet!

This is a city that can't even carry an NFL team and they're going to drop that kind of jack on a has-been soccer player? You know what they say about fruits and nuts.

This guy's not even going to finish out his contract. I guarantee you that he'll be doing movies (probably bad ones) within two years and his anorexic wife will be doing enough drugs for all of California.

Peace

You really know how to insult the masses.

His annual salary is $50 million a year. ...$50 Million! Look at what $25 a year has done to A-Rod, a salary like that comes with a bit of "pressure". This is more of a media spectacle than anything, in my opinion. A very, very expensive one. Soccer is not the largest American sport, this signing will do nothing to change that. Football, Baseball, and Basketball are all still going to be the premiere sports for the country. Soccer is still on the back burner, right next to hockey.

I see one benefit of this contract though. With the cash Beckham is going to roll in, it may push back the release date to a new Spice Girl's album. Let's just say his wife has a little bit of "security" for a few years.

I'd like to see the contract. I'll bet there's enough "whereases" and "whyfors" in it that he'll not see $250 mil. Which, boohoo if it's only 10% of that.

Besides, Steinbrenner's probably already trying to figure out how to bring him to the Yankees.

Beckham is certainly past his prime, but he is still better than any player in MLS and will surely excel there as the caliber of play in the MLS is surely below that of any of the major European leagues. I agree with the other poster that the MLS probably has a ton of exit clauses in its contract and Beckham will only see a fraction of the $250 million.

Beckham is not being brought into the MLS to perform on the field, he is being brought into the league to put butts in the seats and get people to tune into the games. He is worth every penny of the $250 million if his move helps increase soccer's popularity in America. The problem with Beckham's style of play is that crosses and penalty kicks are not the kind of things that are going to keep the US sports audience continuously interested. If the MLS would be better off getting a player with a more entertaining style of play like a Ronaldhino or Christiano Ronaldo.

I wouldn't say he is past his prime, he is only 31. Most players are past their prime once they get past 35+, so he has a few more years left in him yet. Beckham was never blessed with pace, but he makes up for it with his vision, passing ect. His contract will be water tight, he will earn every penny of it. In Football (soccer) players contracts benefit them only, not the teams/clubs they play for.

Beckham is a big influence in the sport and the rumours are is that he is trying to persuade others to join him. People like Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane and some other names that i cant remember right now. Last season at Real Madrid, they earned £180 million from sales for Beckham shirts alone. It was more than the shirt sales combined for the rest of the team..

He will do great over in MLS, but it reminds you of when Bobby Moore, Alan Ball, Pele and various other top class players did it in the 1970's. They did have an impact but failed to get the nation interested in Football on a continuos basis. Beckham wont be able to do it on his own, others will have to follow. But if people in the USA dont like the sport, then they just dont like it. You can get the top 100 players over 31 years old to play in MLS and my guess is that most people still wouldnt raise an eyebrow.

Originally posted by The Real Deal
I wouldn't say he is past his prime, he is only 31. Most players are past their prime once they get past 35+, so he has a few more years left in him yet. Beckham was never blessed with pace, but he makes up for it with his vision, passing ect. His contract will be water tight, he will earn every penny of it. In Football (soccer) players contracts benefit them only, not the teams/clubs they play for.

I will have to respectfully disagree. While Beckham is not an old man, he is not as good as he used to be. The contracts footballers and athletes sign in Europe are governed by different rules than the ones signed in the US. Who is to say that Beckham's US contract does not have a lot of loop holes. Right now, a US contract worth $250 million and tons of loop holes is his best option. The average European clubs will not touch Beckham because he is too expensive, and the elite European clubs will not touch him because he is no longer good enough.

With Beckham your paying for his marketing ability. His performance is still at a very good standard maybe mid to low English, Italian, Spanish league as you said not for top european clubs.

The MLS will benifit as money will pour in from advertising, sales and blah blah.

His performance will probably be exiting maybe first few months as he will probably have more time to think on the ball then he will be conditined to the style of play and just blend in so to speak, although with his knowledge he will find ways of being smart.

And you Americans do have two fantastic leagues, although its not in North America! its in Argentina and Brazil although they are not as physically trained like the europeans the technical skill is beyond this planet.

I will remind you of the FIFA World Club Championship 2006

Santos 1 - 0 FC Barcelona