Leave Becks alone
David Beckham recently announced he is leaving MLS team LA Galaxy and is looking to move to another team for “one last challenge”.
At 37 Beckham is likely to only be a bit part player if he goes to join a team in any serious league in the world, he’s not going to be starting every week for PSG is he!
The French club are reportedly chasing his signature along with a host of other teams bent on employing Brand Beckham and all the hype and shirt sales that comes with it.
David Beckham may not be the player he once was, far from it, but who among us would deny him the opportunity to have one last crack at the whip? He has claimed he wants one last hurrah before he hangs up his boots and calls time on an illustrious and celebrated career.
So I was surprised to read that some journalists have been critical of Beckham’s decision to carry on playing and that he should simply call it a day now. That he is only looking to move club to engineer one last big pay day before he retires.
I could not disagree more with that argument. Whilst some players do look to move clubs in the twilight years of their playing careers to ensure they have enough money to retire on I don’t think Beckham needs the money somehow.
He could retire today and still have enough leftover cash to fund the Hollywood lifestyle.
So on that basis I would hope his reason for leaving is based purely on football and not on any commercial venture.
The only question that remains is where will the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man end up? If the rumours are to be believed, and there are a lot of them, then he will head to the French leagues to play for either PSG or Monaco. Both of which would of course suit a luxury lifestyle.
I can’t see Beckham returning to the Premier League no matter how much tabloid headline writers want it to happen. The only serious offer on the table is apparently from struggling QPR and I doubt Beckham has given their offer any serious thought.
However having spent 5 years in the States with Galaxy there are serious doubts about his ability to deliver at the top level, few players manage to maintain such high standards into the tail end of their careers.
Ironically however two that have managed it are Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, former teammates and graduates of the same Manchester United academy in the 1990’s.
At 37 this move is surely to be nothing more than a last hurrah. But I think we should applaud Beckham, not deride him, for the man who changed so much about football in this country and indeed the world won’t be around for much longer.
Let’s enjoy him while we still can. He might not be the player he once was, few are at 37, but let him see out his final years on the pitch without questioning his reasons for being there.
Robert Lock
0 comments