By David Gold
April 13 – David Beckham, in the final year of his contract with Los Angeles Galaxy, has said that it is possible he could remain in Major League Soccer (MLS) after the end of the season.
Whether that means he will be playing for the Galaxy or not is another question entirely.
“Yeah, you know, there’s a chance,” said the former Manchester United, AC Milan and Real Madrid star when asked if he could continue to ply his trade in the MLS next season.
“I haven’t made any decision about what I’m going to do after this year, I think it’s important that I just concentrate on my play.
“I feel fit, I feel good in games, I feel as if I’m performing well.
“I need to continue that and then in a few months I’ll think about what I want to do.”
It could be that Beckham wants to continue playing competitive football in order to retain his fitness ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, which he has made clear he would like to participate for Britain.
Though the Olympic football tournament is for under 23-year-olds, each squad is allowed to take up to three players over that age, something Brazil took advantage of in 2008 when they selected then AC Milan star Ronaldinho for their squad.
But whether MLS still wants Beckham could be the sticking point.
At LA Galaxy, Beckham has also been criticised for spending more time playing in Europe than in the US, having gone on loan twice to Italy to play for AC Milan during the MLS close season, as well as regularly training with English clubs such as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
And team made Landon Donovan was scathing in 2009 of Beckham’s commitment to the Galaxy cause.
“He flipped a switch and said, ‘Uh-huh, I’m not doing it anymore’,” he said.
“I can’t think of another guy where I’d say he wasn’t a good team-mate, he didn’t give everything through all this, he didn’t still care.
“But with [Beckham], I’d say no, he wasn’t committed.”
Donovan also complained that Beckham, in his role as a designated player allowed to be paid far in excess of what the player salary cap in the US allows for the rest of the Galaxy squad, refused to pay for dinner when the team went out to eat.
There was also a dispute Beckham had with a fan who criticised him during a game, when the Englishman invited the fan to join him on the sideline to discuss matters further, before being restrained by security guards.
Aside from the disagreement, Beckham’s contribution to MLS has been questioned by those who point to the fact that many stadiums in the league still have plenty of empty seats during games, whilst television ratings are still small.
But then, this was not something Pélé or former Arsenal and Barcelona star Thierry Henry, now playing for the New York Red Bulls, have been able to affect.
But the England star defends himself, pointing to the number of franchises which have popped up in recent years, with Philadelphia, Seattle and Portland entering teams into the league, which this season has welcomed two Canadian sides in Toronto and Vancouver for the first time.
“The way the league is going and the way franchises are coming into the league – you look at things like that and you say, yeah, it has improved in the last few years,” Beckham contends.
He added: “If you look at how improved team performance is and the way the league has gone.
“Things have improved the last few years, especially when you’ve got players like Thierry Henry coming into the league it can only do good for the sport in this country.”
Then again, the argument goes, Beckham’s contribution to this change is questionable, and perhaps he is neither to blame for the league’s poor attendances and viewing figures, nor its new franchises.
But even if MLS is done with its “Beckham experiment”, it remains likely that there will be a billionaire somewhere in the game willing to give arguably England’s greatest player of his generation a place to play.
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1752078075labto1752078075ofdlr1752078075owedi1752078075sni@d1752078075log.d1752078075ivad1752078075
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