David Beckham: MLS Fallen Star

With each passing day, David Beckham’s temporary transfer to Italia Series A club AC Milan is looking more and more permanent. Beckham’s MLS club, the LA Galaxy, granted the English midfielder a loan agreement with AC Milan after Beckham’s desire to stay in favor with the English National Team. Since the MLS is not in season during the proposed loan spell, Beckham would be able to maintain his conditioning, play at a much higher level of competition, and continue to play a role in Fabio Capello’s side, aka the English National Team. This type of transfer is not unusual, especially not for Beckham. Just last year at this time, he trained with English Premier League club Arsenal. However, in the last few days, Beckham’s temporary arrangement in Milan seems to be more permanent.

There are two major concerns about this swap involving the future of both the MLS and the LA Galaxy. The MLS has spent a considerable amount of money in 2007 promoting the English midfielder and former national side captain. While I was in England during this time, this was front page news for the entire month I was there. There was so much hype surrounding this move and more speculation how this could transfer American soccer. The news of his MLS signing was a world wide spectacle. The MLS was fighting to survive in the U.S., and Beckham’s arrival began to breathe life into the dying sport.

Now that he is leaving, many soccer fans are concerned about the future of the MLS. Many question if the MLS and the LA Galaxy relied too much on Beckham’s star power. However, the MLS does not seem too torn up with Beckham’s departure. For starters, the MLS is in much better shape heading into the 2009 season than it was in 2007, when Beckham arrived. Before Beckham, the MLS was a 12 team league with the prospect of growth. However, it was also a league that needed a trigger to set off the expansion. When the 2009 season kicks off, the MLS will have grown to a 15 team league with an international television contract, a list of North American cities interested in expansion, and a far better global reputation than it had before Beckham arrived.

The English star has played his part in that growth, contributing to the league as the “ultimate world ambassador and domestic drawing card”, as described by some football commentators. The MLS knew that the buzz around Beckham would eventually diminish, but used its star to reach new markets in both the U.S. and the rest of the world. In addition, the MLS was able to establish long term relationships and global TV contracts. We will see if the MLS will be able to grow without Beckham’s star power.

Another issue over this trade is the effect on the LA Galaxy. LA is poised to lose their star midfielder, but this could be the least of their problems. Galaxy has switched their concern to forward Landon Donovan, who is currently on loan with Bayern Munich until March 8th. Like Beckham, there have been reports that Donovan may not want to leave Germany after his loan is complete. LA could find itself in deep trouble if two of their stars leave at the same time. Not only will this affect their market ability, but also hurt their competitiveness within the league.

Best of Luck MLS and LA,

Pbo