Sources: Beckham Can Opt Out Of MLS Galaxy Contract After '09
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Leiweke Says '09 Season "Really Important
Year" For Galaxy, "Beckham Experiment" |
MLS Galaxy MF David Beckham's contract "allows him to walk away from the Galaxy after the 2009 season, two years earlier than any previous reports had stated," according to sources cited by Grant Wahl of SI.com. If it is true that Beckham holds that option, it becomes an "important distinction, one that has never been acknowledged publicly by MLS, the Galaxy or Beckham's reps -- all of which refused comment." A source indicated that Italian Serie A club AC Milan, to whom Beckham is on loan this winter, is "paying Beckham's salary during his loan period." Wahl notes that will cost "just under $1[M] if Beckham stays for two months." Beckham's contract also includes the option to "purchase an MLS team after he's done playing for the Galaxy." Beckham's contract reveals he has "even more leverage in his relationship with the Galaxy team than was previously known." If Beckham opted out after the '09 season there "would be no shortage of interest from some of Europe's top clubs, and not just AC Milan." AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke, whose company owns the Galaxy, said, "Does the David Beckham experiment work? I think next year is a really important year for us. A really important year" (SI.com, 11/3).
BENT OUT OF SHAPE: SI.com's Arash Markazi wrote Beckham's move to MLS "has already been a mistake, and staying any longer would only be compounding it." If Beckham's move was "done in large part to increase his visibility and grow his brand off-the-field in North America, I would think it's safe to say that it's been a colossal failure up to this point." And if that is the "case now, almost two years into this five-year deal, does anyone really believe it will get any better?" (FANNATION.com, 10/31).
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