David Beckham must be getting to the point where he is running out of avenues to explore. People the world over are already more than familiar with Beckham the model, the fragrance, the underwear range, the charity worker and the advertising juggernaut. Have I left anything out? Oh yeah, David Beckham the footballer.
But there is now a potential new chapter in the David Beckham story, which will one day probably warrant another autobiography. Becks is now entering the world of football club ownership.
Rather than buying an existing club David Beckham will be aiming to take the even bolder step of starting his own and entering it into the USA’s MLS. It has been announced today that Miami, Florida will be the home of the club. And like seemingly everything Beckham does this appears to be not only an interesting career move but a shrewd investment as well.
Beckham will be allowed to purchase the club (or should I say franchise? This is the States after all) for a knock-down price of £15million. A quarter of what the impending arrival of a new side from New York will be costing.
Beckham’s journey to franchise ownership started when he first moved to America in 2007, when he left Real Madrid for the LA Galaxy. Beckham’s contract at the time allowed him to have an MLS franchise when he finished playing. And, having hung up his boots in the summer after a short spell with Paris St Germain, he seemingly feels that the time is right.
The fact that Beckham has chosen a hugely vibrant and desirable city like Miami shouldn’t come as any surprise. For a man whose playing career took in Madrid, Milan, LA and Paris, Miami seems like a logical next step for the Beckhams to settle down while further expanding their ‘brand’. There is huge competition in Miami for sports fans as the city already boasts the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and basketballs reigning NBA Champions the Miami Heat.
But Beckham feels that he has seen enough growth from football (sorry, Soccer) in the United States during his time there to believe that the game can flourish and attract new fans even in a crowded sporting city like Miami. The MLS currently involves 19 sides but plans are in place for this to be increased to 24 by the year 2020. The belief is seemingly widespread that the beautiful game is there to be cashed in on in a big way in America as it continues to expand.
This is the main reason that Brand Beckham isn’t the only entity bidding for the rights to a new franchise. It’s reported that more than 12 investor groups are also looking to make waves in this market. But Beckham has a few key factors on his side to make sure he comes out on top in this process. Firstly, there is his previously mentioned contract that doesn’t seem to confirm he will be successful in his ownership quest but certainly suggests that he will be favoured.
Secondly there is the fact that the MLS want David Beckham to be involved in what they are doing. Much, if not all, of the growth of soccer in America has come since Beckham moved to LA and as a direct result of said move. He gave soccer something that it had always been missing in the US, mainstream attention. Others like Robbie Keane and Thierry Henry have followed, but it is likely that neither of them would have ended up stateside had Beckham not already paved the way.
Football ownership is a tricky proposition. We complain no end that our respective clubs owners aren’t in touch with football. They sack managers when they shouldn’t, they sign and sell players when they shouldn’t. And they do all of this because they aren’t football men. But the truth is that most ‘football men’ wouldn’t be able to handle what a football club really is, a multi-million pound business. A footballer wouldn’t be any more qualified to run the business side of a football club than he would Tesco or Lloyds Bank.
This is where the former England captain is the extremely rare exception to the rule. Beckham is a football man, he had a glorious career and won everything there is to win in the game. But he is also head of a global empire that is thought to be worth in excess of £185million. Beckham has all the tools to make a success of this for all of the reasons outlined above.
Then again, he is just as likely to make this latest venture a success simply because he is David Beckham. And that’s just what he does.