Beckham's Attorneys In Talks To Extend Time With AC Milan

Beckham Looking To Stay In Italy Beyond March 9 End Date

CAN MLS SURVIVE DEPARTURE? In Newark, Frank Giase wrote if Beckham leaves MLS "after two years the league may not recover from the embarrassment for a long time," and any compromise "will be just as humiliating." If Beckham wants to remain with AC Milan, MLS "may be forced to allow him to finish the Serie A season and return to the Galaxy in May." But that would be "worse than him never coming back because it would make MLS look like a decidedly minor-league outfit that kowtows to the big clubs around the world" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/3). In New Jersey, Stefan Bondy wrote, "Goodbye Beckham." Beckham's words and actions "indicate a different desire" than MLS, as his "body and mind is in Italy, presumably past the loan's completion." MLS should "sell while stock is high," as Beckham "isn't as good as his latest performances at AC Milan, and he isn't as bad as his last two months with the Galaxy." Forcing Beckham back to MLS now "would only give the Galaxy a grumpy, underperforming veteran" (Bergen RECORD, 1/31).

MLS IN GOOD SHAPE: MLS Toronto FC coach John Carver said that even if Beckham does not return to MLS, he has had a "positive impact" on the league. Carver: "He's done a magnificent job for the league, without a shadow of a doubt." Carver said that since Beckham joined MLS, the profile of the league has "increased dramatically in England, to the point coaches, managers and even Premier League players 'not just at the end of their careers' are looking to North America as a real option" (TORONTO STAR, 2/3). ESPN SOCCERNET's Ives Galarcep wrote under the header, "MLS Will Carry On Just Fine Without Beckham." If Beckham does leave, it "won't hurt the league nearly as much as some skeptics think." MLS finds itself "in much better shape heading into the 2009 season" than it was when Beckham arrived in '07. One MLS team exec said, "If Beckham left now, you can't really call his time here a failure because of everything he did accomplish already. How many more people in this country and abroad know more about MLS, or even know MLS, than did before?" (ESPNSOCCERNET.com, 1/31).

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