David Beckham, 38, is about to become the first former Major League Soccer player to hold an ownership stake in a club team, as he brings an MLS club to Miami.
According to Bloomberg, Beckham commented on the move in a press conference this week.
“We plan on bringing a team that is going to be a global team,” Beckham said at the presser. “I’m committed to this league, and I’ve been committed to this sport for many years.”
Another news outlet reported that a clause in the player’s contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy allowed him to purchase an expansion team for “a reduced price of $25 million.” To compare, The New York City Football Club, which is set to join the league next year, was purchased for a $100 million expansion fee.
The move is interesting because it poses the question of whether similar successful players will seek to follow suit: will Beckham’s move lead other former players to want to do the same, or is it just another way he stands out from the relatively unknown to the public eye players? Beckham has done something (not necessarily for the best) in that he has gone beyond his fame in the sport to worldwide notoriety, notably in the US, where soccer fans are fewer and farther between. For example, he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to flit around an H&M commercial for the Super Bowl in his underwear, an opportunity many soccer players will never have. And, depending on your perspective, they may never want it.
So perhaps Beckham buying an MLS team is just another purely David Beckham move, one that no — or few — other former MLS players will have. But it’s still an interesting one, and perhaps good to see a former player using his fame and wealth to stay connected to the sport that gave him so much in the first place.
It might be good for MLS because of the star power that he possesses. I also think that this venture speaks well for the future of the sport in this country.