Bye bye Becks?

[jloome]

Beckham hints at Milan stay

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/86/italy/2009/01/13/1058604/beckham-milan-stay-well-see-what-happens

[MrHawk]

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2009/01/13/1059444/breaking-news-manchester-city-open-talks-to-sign-kaka-from-milan

Followed by this article in the top right corner of the page.

[Damien]

Don't care if Becks comes back or not... i think he's given the league some good recognition already.

[Section 117]

I can't blame him. Who would you want to pass the ball Kaka, Pato, Ronaldhinio or Edson Buddle?

IMO I think Becks came here to early and he should go back to Europe and for two more years and then come play in the MLS

[Dirk Diggler]

The latest reports from Italy suggest the bald-headed chief is working to try and find a way of keeping 'Becks' for longer.

That's some fine reporting right there.

[TFCREDNWHITE]

I think we should all want/need Becks to stay for at least this upcoming year and hopefully next year too...He is/was an incredible addition for MLS, and he can continue to work/create/inspire great things from everyone associated with MLS. He still has a lot of work to complete in the league....

We still need him.

[ben_vw]

I can't blame him. Who would you want to pass the ball Kaka, Pato, Ronaldhinio or Edson Buddle?

IMO I think Becks came here to early and he should go back to Europe and for two more years and then come play in the MLS

uh, OBV Buddle...

:cool:

[TheRenter]

as much as he is a soccer-mom-magnet-type-of-player in north america...him leaving mls is not good for the league...i thought he wanted to better promote footy here on a 5 yr. deal...if he goes he's an even bigger biatch

[Beach_Red]

I think we should all want/need Becks to stay for at least this upcoming year and hopefully next year too...He is/was an incredible addition for MLS, and he can continue to work/create/inspire great things from everyone associated with MLS. He still has a lot of work to complete in the league....

We still need him.

By now, Beckham has done everything for MLS he can do on his own. If no other big name stars follow him to America he might as well go back to Europe. And it really doesn't look like any other team is planning to drop those kind of bucks on a DP.

[TorCanSoc]

true that. freddie lunberg (sp?) doesn't quite match up.

[nascarguy]

ac milan doesnt have the money to pay the mls for his rights. But i bet they could make a deal

[trane]

We overall quality of play to go up, not just star players. It is a team game, one great player makes you better, as a team, but he can only do so much. Beckhams presence on LA improved the quality of service to Ladycakes , so much that he had a great year, but the team overall has been shite.

[I_AM_CANADIAN]

Kaka doesn't strike me as the mercenary type like Patrick Vieira who would leave his long-time club at the drop of a hat- if he was, he'd have left two years ago along with the rest of the mass exodus from Milan, Fiorentina and Juve. I think he truly is the best player in the world, because he has skill that is arguably equal to that of Cristiano Ronaldo- or very close to it whatever your opinion may be- and he has the class and sportsmanship that Ronaldo so obviously lacks.

And who in their right mind would leave one of the biggest clubs in the world, playing with the likes of Beckham, Ronaldinho, Zambrotta and Pato for one trying to fend off relegation? Not me, anyway, no matter how much they paid me. Life is short and careers in football are even shorter.

[rocker]

maybe becks served his purpose. he made the world take notice of MLS (even if then they laughed at it). At least now it's in the consciousness of fans, and more importantly footballers around the world. On the field, he drew in some huge crowds and probably turned a few fans onto the league. Was it worth the $$$?? who knows... but i still think if they had never brought him here, the league wouldn't be as far along in the public consciousness as it is now.

now they have to build on that, whether he stays or goes.

[RedsYNWA]

he will be back.... I'll take beer bets

[Stencils]

As much as I hate to say it, I think we need to get Becks back in order to help stave off the idea that the MLS is at best a vacation league for world footballers who still have skills to sell.

I keep hearing that players have 'interest' in the league, but I've yet to really see high profile players who are interested in playing in the MLS for anything other than a lot of money or as a holiday away from European pressures (or if they're struggling to find a first team spot).

[Chevy]

Just wait until he has a bad game or two. The Italian and English press will have him on the first plane back to LA.

[Beach_Red]

As much as I hate to say it, I think we need to get Becks back in order to help stave off the idea that the MLS is at best a vacation league for world footballers who still have skills to sell.

I keep hearing that players have 'interest' in the league, but I've yet to really see high profile players who are interested in playing in the MLS for anything other than a lot of money or as a holiday away from European pressures (or if they're struggling to find a first team spot).


What other reason could there be? I don't follow European leagues, but how often is the deciding factor really something other than the most money?

[TOBOR !]

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2009/01/13/1059444/breaking-news-manchester-city-open-talks-to-sign-kaka-from-milan

Followed by this article in the top right corner of the page.

Holy Crap ! Imagine. Kaka in a Man City kit... it boggles the mind.

edit - to the post that follows this one : will he be joining Man City as well then ?

[MUFC_Niagara]

I can't blame him. Who would you want to pass the ball Kaka, Pato, Ronaldhinio or Edson Buddle?

IMO I think Becks came here to early and he should go back to Europe and for two more years and then come play in the MLS


I agree 100%.

[TOBOR !]

Hold on. Just noticed that Goal.com's got Greg Lalas on staff. What a shit mag.

[BC101]

I can't blame him. Who would you want to pass the ball Kaka, Pato, Ronaldhinio or Edson Buddle?

IMO I think Becks came here to early and he should go back to Europe and for two more years and then come play in the MLS
HAHAHAHAHA LOL awesome post.

[torontocelt]

I think that Beckam went to the MLS purely for money and to promote himself in America. I remember when I heard he was going and I couldn't believe it but when I read how much he was getting paid I understood why he made the move to a certain degree. I was still shocked that he would pick money over the possibility of playing at the highest level for a few years and potentially winning major trophies. You only get one career and if it were me I would want to win as many important trophies as possible plus it is not as if he would have been paid pennies in Europe.

The money Man City is apparently offering for Kaka is insane as there is no player worth 100 million pounds. The wages of 500,000 pounds a week is even worse. I for one hope that this is just press talk as this cannot be good for football at all.

[TFC OZZ]

He'll be coming back to MLS, I have no doubt.

[canadian_bhoy]

Becks will be back in MLS this season. He has a get out clause after 3 years of his contract.

The rumour I heard was that Becks would play this season and Milan would pick him up on a full transfer in November.

[Razcle]

I have no idea whether he is going or not. I haven't talked to the guy lately, however..... My Ex teaches his kids Gymnastics somewhere down in California, so maybe if he shows up between now and then I can score some insider info. (I wouldn't hold breath on that one though)

[TFC07]

Kaka already said he doesn't want to leave Milan. So why are people (English media/EPL fans) still linking him to EPL?

As for Mr. Posh, MLS wouldn't let him go unless Milan made an offer that MLS couldn't refuse to turn down. lol

[jloome]

If he doesn't, that actually stands as a better hit to MLS's rep than if he stays. If he stays, Eurofans will always say 'well, he was washed up anyway,' whereas if he can start for Milan after two years in MLS.....

Plus, he knows where his bread is buttered. You can bet every time he's asked, the latter is going to be the answer.

So it goes down like this: Galaxy get a buttload of money for him, likely in the $20-25 million range, he voids his contract, Milan gets a good player and ten times what it paid in spinoff cash (the Galaxy, despite their reported profit of just a few mil, allegedly sold 250,000 Beckham jerseys in his first year.)

Then when he's 36, he comes back to the league, plays out a couple of years and takes over as celebrity/club owner.

The Galaxy then gets a healthy fee from Bayern for Donovan, and, MLS rules being what thy are, is allowed to spend some of the, say, $30 million total on rebuilding the club.....say, $700,000.

Everybody wins (except those fan types. Monetarily, everyone wins.)

[poppamidnight]

the problem was the Galaxy needed to thrive.

I think if he stays it's due to the fact he didnt succeed in carrying that team like he thought he could (e.g. Lebron James + the cavs of old, Roberto Luongo and the Canucks, Ladanian Tomlinson + Chargers...etc)

I just can't see him and Donovan leaving Galaxy... My $ is on only 1 leaving for good

[Detroit_TFC]

The most logical view is that he does come back in March but the leaves for good in November. He'll make some sort of statement about how soccer in the US is the future of the game, MLS will make him League General Secretary for World Football/MLS Relations or some other bullshit title and he'll go and play in Europe through the WC. Then he'll retire, return to the US and get a ownership stake in the Galaxy and maybe become the director of football there.

[jaahuuu]

ac milan doesnt have the money to pay the mls for his rights. But i bet they could make a dealHow do you figure? As of last summer their owner was worth about US$10 billion, he's still got to have a decent chunk of that.

[Canadian Blue]

he will be back.... I'll take beer bets

My guess is Becks will be back in the MLS but not until the Italian Serie A season is complete.

[I_AM_CANADIAN]

I can't believe Berlusconi is still allowed to own AC Milan and his media companies while being president... I don't get Italian politics.

[I_AM_CANADIAN]

Kaka already said he doesn't want to leave Milan. So why are people (English media/EPL fans) still linking him to EPL?

As for Mr. Posh, MLS wouldn't let him go unless Milan made an offer that MLS couldn't refuse to turn down. lol
Everyone decent gets linked to the EPL these days, as popular opinion holds that it's the best league in the world. Personally, I can't see Kaka leaving, and I hope he doesn't.

[jaahuuu]

I can't believe Berlusconi is still allowed to own AC Milan and his media companies while being president... I don't get Italian politics.He's also been charged a dozen times for various types of fraud, bribery, corruption, embezzlement, and a few other crimes. He's even ammended statute of limitation laws so they would expire before the trial could finish. I hate the guy, but that's kind of a genius idea if you think about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trials_involving_Silvio_Berlusconi

[I_AM_CANADIAN]

The moron also had the audacity to ally himself with the separatist (and racist and fascist in my opinion) Lega Nord during one of his previous presidencies. I know that might draw comparisons with the NDP-Liberal-Bloc coalition, but the difference there is that the Bloc aren't racist or fascist.

[Yohan]

The moron also had the audacity to ally himself with the separatist (and racist and fascist in my opinion) Lega Nord during one of his previous presidencies. I know that might draw comparisons with the NDP-Liberal-Bloc coalition, but the difference there is that the Bloc aren't racist or fascist.
depends whether your definition of racist incl elimination of all traces of other languages than french...

[Don Julio]

Kaka already said he doesn't want to leave Milan. So why are people (English media/EPL fans) still linking him to EPL?

As for Mr. Posh, MLS wouldn't let him go unless Milan made an offer that MLS couldn't refuse to turn down. lol

The quote from Kaka was months old, just published last night by Italian press as PR. Truth is City seems to have agreed to terms with Milan and is now trying to convince Kaka that they have a realistic plan to be in CL by end of next season and stay there long-term.

[james]

Beckham leaving MLS after just 2 years would look bad on MLS....would make other players think if Beckham couldnt even stay in the league for more then 2 seasons then its gotta be a shit league!

[Cashcleaner]

I think Beckham will be coming back to LA, but I know that he's probably regretting signing that 5-year contract. MLS can't afford to lose him just yet because it would just look so terrible in the eyes of the public for a player so hyped up only playing 30 games in the league. Like James said, just think of the damage MLS's reputation would suffer.

[mighty_torontofc_2008]

Becks is not going anywhere, this is all european media propoganda at its worst. The Galaxy would have to receive real serious money, that Milan would not part with to let Becks go.

[dclaro]

Becks is not going anywhere, this is all european media propoganda at its worst. The Galaxy would have to receive real serious money, that Milan would not part with to let Becks go.

Shouldn't be a problem if the Kaka transfer goes through, they'll have plenty of money after that

[King Tut]

he will be back.... I'll take beer bets

I agree..He wants to prove everybody (who doubted him) wrong and I'm dead sure he'll be back in March...


Shouldn't be a problem if the Kaka transfer goes through, they'll have plenty of money after that

That's true too.

[Canadian Blue]

Becks will stay in Milan until the end of this season, come back to the Galaxy for the remainder of the 09 MLS season then quit MLS and return to end his career in Milan.

[Chevy]

Becks is not going anywhere, this is all european media propoganda at its worst. The Galaxy would have to receive real serious money, that Milan would not part with to let Becks go.


Exactly. Becks, Kaka, Ronaldo, C.Ronaldo, Del-Piero, Buffon all have had tons of BS floating around on them in the last month.

[RedRum]

I'd be happy if he left. He wont play here anyway. Supporters would be able to get tickets to the LA game and scalpers might be less likely to re-new knowing that their profit margin just took a beating.