David Beckham is to pay $3 million (about £2.1 million) to give himself the best possible chance of playing for England in the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer. The amount represents the difference between the valuations of his services by AC Milan and the Los Angeles Galaxy, and Beckham sees the investment in prolonging his loan transfer from the Major League Soccer (MLS) club to the Italian side, and therefore his England career, as good value.
Fabio Capello, the England manager, has indicated that Beckham must continue at the highest level if he is to retain his place in the national team — which means playing for Milan in Serie A and European competition rather than returning full-time to the less competitive environs of MLS.
Milan initially offered only $3 million to sign Beckham outright, which was well short of the valuation placed on him by the Galaxy and MLS, and even during negotiations to extend his loan to the end of the season, the clubs were far apart. Without a breakthrough, Beckham would have had to return to California by Monday to prepare for the opening of the MLS season. Seeing his chances of appearing in a fourth World Cup vanishing, Beckham agreed to break the impasse out of his own pocket.
Under the terms of the new arrangement, Beckham will remain a Galaxy player, but stay in Milan on loan until the end of the Serie A season in May, by which time he hopes to have helped Milan to qualify for the Champions League. He will then be available for England’s World Cup qualifying matches away to Kazakhstan and at home to Andorra in June before returning to Los Angeles, fulfilling the promise he made in December after negotiating his original loan with Milan.
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Beckham will be able to train with, but not play for, the MLS club until the opening of the international transfer window on July 15, after which he will complete the MLS season with the Galaxy. If all goes to plan, his first match back in a Galaxy jersey will be away to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, July 18.
It had been widely expected that, at the end of the season, Beckham would invoke the clause that allows him to leave after three years of his five-year, $32.5 million contract with MLS. Instead, The Times understands that Beckham will then be loaned back to Milan until the end of the 2009-10 season, although he will only be eligible to play from the opening of the transfer window on January 1.
That, of course, supposes that Milan will still want him back. Carlo Ancelotti, the coach, is by no means certain to remain in charge of the team and a new regime might prefer to remodel an ageing squad. Beckham’s wages might be more profitably spent on younger talent, especially if — as cynics might suggest — sales of Beckham shirts have already peaked.
Assuming further that Beckham maintains sufficient form and fitness to justify his continued selection by Capello, he will join up with the England squad bound for South Africa, returning to Los Angeles for the remainder of the 2010 MLS season. Victoria, his wife, and their three children will still reside in Los Angeles.
What will Angelenos make of the return of a player willing to pay to ensure that he does not return to play before them permanently? “On the surface, the Galaxy would appear to be getting very little out of the settlement,” Graham L. Jones, who covers the Galaxy for the Los Angeles Times, wrote. “But there are benefits. Beckham’s $6.5 million salary will not count against the salary cap until he returns, nor will he count against the 24-player roster limit. Also, with Beckham — or Beckham-lite — back for part of the season, the Galaxy and their owners will be able to keep key sponsors satisfied and, just perhaps, revive flagging season-ticket sales.”
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