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My take on the David Beckham loan drama

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The biggest MLS story heading into this weekend isn’t the playoff race, which it should be, or even the Red Bulls drug fiasco, which has already become yesterday’s news. The David Beckham/AC Milan loan move has become an international story that has turned just a bit messy as the Los Angeles Galaxy is left protesting a potential loan move that has little, if any, value for the club.

I offered up my take on the Beckham loan saga for ESPN.com today and it boils down to me not really seeing the value in the move for the Galaxy. I think it could definitely help Beckham, and I think a younger player could benefit from a similar situation if they were going to a club they were going to get some playing time for, but to have Beckham basically go to Italy for three to four months to sell Milan jerseys and maybe get some minutes for Milan doesn’t sound like it helps the Galaxy all that much.

You also have the case of the Galaxy being a team in terrible shape and likely headed for a thorough rebuilding process. Not having the team’s captain around for any of the pre-season wouldn’t exactly help that team-building cause.

Give the story a read and feel free to share your thoughts on the Beckham loan saga in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. I think it helps the G’s actually by keeping thier most known player and their centerpiece happy going into next year, it’s obvious that he still wants to be considered for England. Sitting around for four months without playing isn’tgoing to help that cause. The only real risk is of him being injured, I still feel the benefit of him being happy, on form and with a new set of international buzz around him would help the G”s for next year.

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  2. Galaxy Captain.

    Why was given that roll?

    Galaxy w/Beckham has been a UTTER FAILURE !

    He came to sell shirts and Tickets and he did……….time for MLS to sell him to AC Milan and Make $$$$$$$$

    Pele was right BEckham is all marketing no REAL SOCCER @

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  3. Hello Mr. Ives,

    ONCE AGAIN there is no longer a thing called 3-4 months loan.

    Per new FIFA rules, Beckham cannot go on a short-term loan. He can only move during registration periods and this means Beckham will miss the first two-to-three months of the MLS season.

    Ciao for now

    Reply
  4. Loaning him out may not make sense, but MLS has to remember, Beckham is in control of the situation and not MLS no matter what they decide. If they nix the deal and it costs him a place on the English squad, you have a very unhappy superstar and that more than anything else might affect bigger stars from coming to the league in the future. It might not be ideal, but the MLS has no clout and has to coddle Beckham. I think Gazidis is just trying to save a little bit of face here and make it sound that the MLS is the one pulling the strings and not Beckham. In the end though, it’s much riskier for them to make Beckham unhappy and most likely will let the deal go through.

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  5. Do the Galaxy benefit? Well, they’ll get mentioned in every Beckham story for the next 6 months, so there’s some benefit, I think.

    They’ll also get their player back after their off-season in good shape.

    Additionally, he’ll get a chance to play for England, which is something he takes pride in (esp. since Capello said he wouldn’t pick players who aren’t fit or aren’t playing). I see no problem with this so long as he doesn’t get hurt.

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  6. Loaning him out makes no sense. They should sell him to AC Milan; as others have said, he is not much use to MLS anymore. He certainly hasn’t translated to wins for LA.

    Garber et al have looked foolish through this whole thing. It is so odd to me that individual clubs have so little say in what happens with their players. Do you see that changing at any point in the near future, Ives?

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