Whatever happens next, Brand Beckham will be indelibly linked to the future fortunes of Major League Soccer.
The MLS is bigger, better and richer thanks to an Essex boy who has quite possibly outdone Hollywood with his ability to spread magic stardust.
As David Beckham prepares to ride into the sunset at the end of his California dream, Los Angeles Galaxy must adjust to life without their £20million man.
“There’s nobody like David,” admitted Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, owners of the Galaxy. “Would we be sitting here with two TV channels and this kind of economic commitment without David? No way. I don’t even think we’d get Robbie Keane without David Beckham. David took us to a different level.
“People can sit here and debate the ‘David Beckham experiment’ but he’s brought a lot of heat, attention and buzz back to this organisation. There aren’t many players in this sport in the world who can do that.”
The MLS is trying desperately to showcase the ultimate Hollywood fairytale but there remain two niggling issues lurking in the wings. Will Beckham extend his contract? And, if not, how do you trump a signing of his global status?
“You’re not going to top David,” said Leiweke. “But we’ll move on. The Galaxy were here before David and we’ll be here after David. The good thing that David’s done is there are a lot of players who want to come and play here.”
Beckham’s five-year deal ends after the team’s post-season tour of Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia. There would be no such finale without the former England captain’s involvement; nor, indeed, would Galaxy players wear shirts with a nutrition company’s logo emblazoned across their chests – the first US sports team to do so.
There would be no £43m, 10-year deal to show Galaxy games on English and Spanish cable channels in California – despite the fact that games are never watched in more than 16,000 homes in the region, less than one per cent of the available audience.
Someone who has watched the Beckham effect is Paul Dalglish, son of Kenny, who joined the Galaxy’s MLS Cup final opponents Houston Dynamo in 2006. He is a huge admirer of the former England skipper.
Thanks to Beckham, the children whom Dalglish coaches at Dynamo Juniors in Austin now talk about MLS players as well as Premier League stars and Lionel Messi.
“I think the most important thing Beckham’s done is bring credibility worldwide. I don’t think we would have players like Thierry Henry or Rafael Marquez without Beckham. He gave everybody else the confidence to come over,” said Dalglish.
This will be the crucial part of Beckham’s legacy; whether or not MLS starts to attract top players in their prime. The team salary cap, which is still only just over £2m, is fiercely restrictive, but franchises can have up to three ‘designated players’. Only a fixed amount of these players’ earnings counts towards the cap.
“It’s hard to compare the standard of the MLS with other leagues because of the salary cap,” said Dalglish.
“The Scottish Premier League doesn’t have players like Beckham, Henry or Marquez. In the MLS you have players like that playing with kids who earn the minimum salary, which is about $40,000 (£31,000) a year.
“I think what the MLS had to do initially was bring over media flagship players like Beckham and Henry to give other players the confidence to come over.
“They’ve achieved the first stage by growing the credibility of the league, now the next stage is to attract young players who could be sold for a profit.” – Daily Mail