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Beckham to join AC Milan on short loan

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David Beckham is set to resume his European club soccer career.

At least temporarily.

AC Milan has confirmed reports that Beckham will join the Italian power on a short loan deal beginning in January.

The deal makes all the sense in the world. Major League Soccer’s off-season, from November to late March/early April, is entirely too long and now Beckham will have a chance to play high-level soccer before returning to the Los Angeles Galaxy at the start of the MLS season.

The reality is that more and more MLS players should consider the brief loan option. The fact that the MLS transfer window ends on April 15 means a player can move to Europe on January 1 and make it back in time for the start of the upcoming season. While it does mean time away from his MLS team’s pre-season, you can’t argue with the benefits of playing high-level soccer rather than enduring a prolonged preseason.

What do you think of the news? Worried that Beckham won’t come back? Would you like to see some of your favorite MLS players making similar moves?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. MiamiA — That MLS is not a good league is a foregone conclusion. You don’t really have to worry about the league’s image abroad. What Beckham does against some of the best players in the world will ALWAYS matter more than what Beckham chooses to do against some 3rd rate footballers… namely sign endorsement deals and pose in his underwear.

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  2. Arena being totally out of the loop is the biggest subplot to this. The Gals are still a circus.

    Arena: “My understanding is that now it would have to be at the next transfer window. I could be wrong about that. I have not looked into that, because I was just informed about this today.”

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  3. Good call, Ives. I’d like to see more MLS players utilize loans overseas if possible. Obviously, there has to be interest first but I wonder if the Beckham move will open the doors for other MLS players. I think if more players went out on loan we could see another step up in player skill and performance.

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  4. How can you blame Him? The man is desperate to keep playing for his national team. I am reading so many writers bash him. I believe its not fare to Becks. I believe the MLS and AIG really made a huge mistake from the get go. Getiing Becks to come over here should of been a signal to the league that it was ready to loosen the salary cap and bring over more stars. The league did no such thing, and now we our seeing the consequences. The reality is becks is a right winger, not a playmaker. Hes not going to control the game and wow the crowd with his technical skills, his strengths are his great long balls and crosses, and his fitness. How could the Galaxy not know this, or be niave enough to think otherwise. If I were him I would of packed up much sooner. MLS is a league that is growing year by year, and it is a business, but it seems that by getting becks, they really made a big mistake by not getting more big players to go along with him. You can only blame the league and the galaxy, not becks..

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  5. i think this is a bit of a fishy ‘loan’ i wonder if he will even be eligible to play at the San Siro, or if this is really just an agreement to practice (and maybe play a friendly or something to sell shirts)

    I know a lot of ‘purist’ fans think he’s a waste and whatnot, but he really is good for the profile of the league. I just returned from my annual week in London, and people do talk about him, and know about MLS and the Galaxy. In your average tchotchke store in London, you can buy the following knock-off jerseys: C. Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in ManU Red, Rooney and Gerrard in England White, Lampard in Chelsea Blue and Beckham in Galaxy White. I talked to a guy selling jerseys in Leicester Square and he told me they sell about 7-10 Beckham jerseys a week. not to Americans, but to tourists from around the world. that’s good for the league (and Herbalife, of course, which is good for the league) and frankly, having a player in the league who gets minutes, even slight minutes, on a top ten squad is a good thing for the league. if MLS is as bad as everyone says, why doesn’t he dominate? I was actually asked that question (while smoking outside the Reading Doncaster match on Tuesday) Yes, he’s a loss leader for the league financially, but he’s a good one, he brings eyeballs to the game and puts butts in the seats. he ges TV coverage, both in sports and in ‘lifestyle’ as well. the whole Galaxy chaos roadshow is good for the game and good for the league. it is never a bad thing to have people talking about you when previously they weren’t.

    if he leaves, which I don’t think he will, I will be sorry to see him go.

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  6. i think this is a bit of a fishy ‘loan’ i wonder if he will even be eligible to play at the San Siro, or if this is really just an agreement to practice (and maybe play a friendly or something to sell shirts)

    I know a lot of ‘purist’ fans think he’s a waste and whatnot, but he really is good for the profile of the league. I just returned from my annual week in London, and people do talk about him, and know about MLS and the Galaxy. In your average tchotchke store in London, you can buy the following knock-off jerseys: C. Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in ManU Red, Rooney and Gerrard in England White, Lampard in Chelsea Blue and Beckham in Galaxy White. I talked to a guy selling jerseys in Leicester Square and he told me they sell about 7-10 Beckham jerseys a week. not to Americans, but to tourists from around the world. that’s good for the league (and Herbalife, of course, which is good for the league) and frankly, having a player in the league who gets minutes, even slight minutes, on a top ten squad is a good thing for the league. if MLS is as bad as everyone says, why doesn’t he dominate? I was actually asked that question (while smoking outside the Reading Doncaster match on Tuesday) Yes, he’s a loss leader for the league financially, but he’s a good one, he brings eyeballs to the game and puts butts in the seats. he ges TV coverage, both in sports and in ‘lifestyle’ as well. the whole Galaxy chaos roadshow is good for the game and good for the league. it is never a bad thing to have people talking about you when previously they weren’t.

    if he leaves, which I don’t think he will, I will be sorry to see him go.

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  7. Ciao – new information on BBC sports this morning. The loan is for January and February, Becks will rejoin Galaxy in mid-march for preseason.

    What is very interesting is that Arena didn’t seem to know about it and seems surprised and concerned that in a rebuilding year that the Galaxy would loan out a top player.

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  8. When does Beckham play (assuming this goes through)? Milan already has a midfield of

    Kaka, Seedorf, Pirlo, Gattuso, Flamini, Ambrosini and Emerson. What a log jam, although betting on Beckham failing tends to lose.

    I think MLS makes money off this deal even if he sells a bunch of shirts for Milan, he’ll sell more Galaxy shirts when he comes back anyways.

    My biggest disappointment is if Becks is giving up on the mess that is LA. While understandable, he has a contract. Plus, the Euro soccer mindset seems to be to win by joining big clubs, not by building a winner from scratch. Maybe he’s not ready for the frustrations that come with that challenge.

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  9. I am thinking that he has purchased a one way ticket to Milan. Posh is not enjoying it here in the states. In my view, Beck’s body language while playing for LA, shows me that he doesn’t want to be here. He puts in more energy and passion in 4 mins with England than he does with LA.

    He is realizing that he made the wrong choice in coming to MLS. At the time when he signed, he was not playing for England and was ridding the bench at Real Madrid. Now that he is getting called into the England national team, he is realizing that if he wants more playing time then he needs to be playing in a league and on a team that is better than MLS and the Galaxy.

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  10. HEllo Ives…

    There is no Such thing as short term loan in Serie A….Rules require full Season loan…

    Loam will be from Jan – end of May, 09

    Ciao for now

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  11. he’s done his job here, league attendance is up, so is exposure. Those who have watched and continued to watch have done so b/c they realized that this is a pretty decent league, not b/c Beckham is here. Those who weren’t enticed by Beckham before won’t be now… Hopefully he does well, Beckham mania hits Italy, and they offer to buy him in order to make a final push with their older players… I would be sorry to see him go, b/c he’s obviously a good player, but the league and teams need cash to grow younger players, not to buy older ones, even if they are still quality like Beckham

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  12. It’s quite possible that he does not come back.

    While a loan deal has no money attached, a transfer would. When his loan runs out, I think he comes back for half a season before a permanent transfer is negotiated with money.

    The reality is this, Beckham has not had an impact on the field for the Galaxy. The Galaxy seem to play better when he is not there. Beckham never seemed to look like he was enjoying his Football with the Galaxy.

    I am betting MLS will unload him for the right transfer fee. Question is, would it be AC Milan?

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  13. He would profitably not be going to Milan if LA were not so abject. He still has national team aspirations, and the only way for him to maintain legitimacy as a player is to go out on loan. MLS is not a highly respected league, and LA is not currently a respectable MLS side. Its like playing for Bolton.

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  14. It would be one thing if he was doing this to stay fit for the galaxy, But no, He’s doing this to keep his place in England which is entirely about ego. He’s never going to make to 2010. He’s just trying to tally more caps which does a dis services to not only the galaxy, but the likes of bobby moore who he stands to surpass. The galaxy can’t have him leaving for meaningless friendlies for England against Kazakhstan when the galaxy’s in the midst of trying to make the playoffs which they didn’t. I think he should make this a permanent move and stay in Europe. It would be best for both parties. He’s miserable here and knows it was a mistake. Just look at his body language when he plays. Especially if the league continues with this wack schedule that doesn’t match up with the international dates. We’ll be without him for at least 4 or 5 games. I rooted for him when he first came here but the galaxy won’t ever do anything with him here. The circus has to come to an end!

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  15. What loan deal? Hasn’t happened. There have been conversations. And FIFA rules mean Beckham couldn’t return until the summer transfer window.

    This sounds like typical European journalism, which is a good four steps below what we demand here.

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  16. The billion dollar experiment has failed and we will see it all transpire before next season. The Galaxy and Beckham’s impact are an absolute disaster. Better make your move to a good squad permanent before you have absolutely zero chance to get on the England squad!!

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