Whilst Beckham might have been able to play at a higher level than MLS after leaving Madrid, the right to buy an expansion team at a discount was an incredible bit of negotiation from him and his advisors. I doubt anything as valuable would have been on offer from other teams, even if he had waited until the end of season.
I get your point, but from reading online he only owns 10% of Inter Miami now, worth an estimated $60-65m. With an estimated net worth of $450m, I don't think it's a *huge* deal.
I was a kid for Beckham's early years but I watched a lot of MLS and then a lot of clips afterward of his old stuff. His quality was clear, and like the majority of the near-retirement legends that came over, he was in another class in the US. I appreciate that he didn't think he was too good for the more workman like aspects of MLS and helped rebuild that Galaxy team that was quite terrible when he arrived. Agree, he was better than just the trophy haul.
Thanks Grace, a timely retrospective on Beckham. Like you I'm a fan of a rival and who can resist a bit of disingenuous sniffiness ("Giggs? No end product" was a staple).
I wanted to Chelsea to a sign him the summer before *that* goal at Plough Lane. His crossing and athleticism were exceptional. He was - to channel 'Arry - a terrific player.
I felt, as he got older he became more of an England player who played for a club than vice versa. I have two bits of grit for the oyster from his later career.
Firstly, he stopped even pretending he would ever, ever go outside the full back and he made himself achingly frustrating to watch. He became too easy to mark and block. It seemed, in the end, that he felt he shouldn't have to but he really, really did.
Secondly, after the Greece free kick he had a bit of a superhero vibe about him. I genuinely believ the answer to the long running question 'why aren't Lampard and Gerrard more effective together for England?' is 'Late era Beckham'. Too often he would come off his wing and demand the ball in order to try a Hollywood pass. That not only disrupted the team shape but too often relegated L&G to gofers reduced to laying off five yard passes.
But, as a whole: a wonderful player who could bend narrative to his will almost as much as he could bend a free kick. Bend it like Beckham? Impossible.
About the later England point, I feel like the answer was to just swap him and Gerrard. Benitez often played Gerrard out wide there, he was running more than Beckham at this point. England couldn't control possession with Gerrard/Lampard flat together, just move Beckham inside to ping it around, job done.
Whilst Beckham might have been able to play at a higher level than MLS after leaving Madrid, the right to buy an expansion team at a discount was an incredible bit of negotiation from him and his advisors. I doubt anything as valuable would have been on offer from other teams, even if he had waited until the end of season.
I get your point, but from reading online he only owns 10% of Inter Miami now, worth an estimated $60-65m. With an estimated net worth of $450m, I don't think it's a *huge* deal.
I was a kid for Beckham's early years but I watched a lot of MLS and then a lot of clips afterward of his old stuff. His quality was clear, and like the majority of the near-retirement legends that came over, he was in another class in the US. I appreciate that he didn't think he was too good for the more workman like aspects of MLS and helped rebuild that Galaxy team that was quite terrible when he arrived. Agree, he was better than just the trophy haul.
Thanks Grace, a timely retrospective on Beckham. Like you I'm a fan of a rival and who can resist a bit of disingenuous sniffiness ("Giggs? No end product" was a staple).
I wanted to Chelsea to a sign him the summer before *that* goal at Plough Lane. His crossing and athleticism were exceptional. He was - to channel 'Arry - a terrific player.
I felt, as he got older he became more of an England player who played for a club than vice versa. I have two bits of grit for the oyster from his later career.
Firstly, he stopped even pretending he would ever, ever go outside the full back and he made himself achingly frustrating to watch. He became too easy to mark and block. It seemed, in the end, that he felt he shouldn't have to but he really, really did.
Secondly, after the Greece free kick he had a bit of a superhero vibe about him. I genuinely believ the answer to the long running question 'why aren't Lampard and Gerrard more effective together for England?' is 'Late era Beckham'. Too often he would come off his wing and demand the ball in order to try a Hollywood pass. That not only disrupted the team shape but too often relegated L&G to gofers reduced to laying off five yard passes.
But, as a whole: a wonderful player who could bend narrative to his will almost as much as he could bend a free kick. Bend it like Beckham? Impossible.
About the later England point, I feel like the answer was to just swap him and Gerrard. Benitez often played Gerrard out wide there, he was running more than Beckham at this point. England couldn't control possession with Gerrard/Lampard flat together, just move Beckham inside to ping it around, job done.
He will also be fondly remembered for the very fine movie, "Bend It Like Beckham." It was one of Keira Knightley's early films.