Is Beckham worth a cool $250 million?
Posted by Ellee on Jan 12, 2007 in updates | 22 commentsIs Beckham worth it, $250 million over the next five years? Did Madrid get their money’s worth? Wasn’t be sitting on the bench there 
quite a bit?
This just confirms that football makes people behave in crazy ways, I’ve seen it from the touchline so many times. Becks isn’t even a star over in LA. When people there were interviewed on last night’s news, many of them said they had never heard of him.
He will be earning £70,000 a day as LA Galaxy’s “designated player”. I don’t even want to begin to imagine what good deeds could benefit from some of that dosh. What can one person do with so much money? There are only so many designer frocks Victoria can fritter it away on with their new Hollywood lifestyle.
I don’t believe it is obscene to earn such a vast salary, but it is obscene to waste it. I would like to see Becks follow in Oprah’s footsteps. Earlier this month she opened a $40 million school in South Africa for disadvantaged girls which she had funded.
Football is an international language, kids love it all over the world. I would like to see Beckham extend his UK Academy (which incidentally also has a base in LA) to equally deprived areas around the world on a not-for-profit or scholarship basis. It could well help discover many world class players who would never otherwise have been given the chance. It would make a dream come true for thousands of star-struck Beckham fans who just kick a ball about in the street and don’t have the same opportunities as others.
Btw, does anyone know what has happened to Sven, has he found a new job?
Hi Ellee – some of the staff were talking about this here at Headway this morning and wondering what we’d do with all that money …. you’ll be pleased to know we all said we’d give at least a million of it to Headway Cambridgeshire before retiring to our luxury mansions and never lifting a finger again!! As Welshcakes Limoncello said, Becks could do with buying Posh a few fish suppers but I think they both do quite a lot of charitable work, albeit in a low key way that the public aren’t always aware of.
Beckham may be a phenomenal marketing brand but unfortunately for David he will be deemed a failure as a footballer. Far from being a world class footballer he ended up being a marketing tool. I hope all the money keeps him warm but I think when his football days are over he will look back at a career that promised so much but ended with him running away to America because he wasn’t good enough to compete in Europe.
What a waste. Even Ken and Barbie didn’t make that much money. I wonder if Tom Cruise will offer his spare room for them to sleep on the floor whilst their furniture arrives?! Victoria Beckham has as much personality as a dried up old prune.
Ummmm, Ellee: Here in the States Beckham’s signing is not a big deal… because soccer isn’t a big deal. The consensus among the sports branch of the chattering class is that Beckham will be in movies or attending the Oscars or otherwise getting himself and whatever Spice Girl he married into the tabloids on a regular basis… but he’ll only be famous for being famous.
Actually, I understand that the people who supposedly are going to pay this money (and I wouldn’t spend it all just yet if I were Mr. and Mrs. Beckham) hope that he’ll be the catalyst to make soccer popular… but I think it will go down in history as a major blunder.
You’ve heard of American “Soccer Moms.” Soccer is popular for little kids because the games last a fixed amount of time and Mommy can drop Junior off and pick him up with some predictability. Or, if Mommy goes to the game to cheer Becky Sue on, she knows she can still pick up the dry cleaning before dinner.
But the kids age out and — so far at least — don’t become lifelong soccer fans.
Women’s soccer may become big business here first… because it has less competition.
But I can’t run on; I have to get some work done and get home because we have real football on TV this weekend. (That’s said with a smile, I hope you realize. Have a good weekend.)
Cityunslicker:- jealous? 100% absolutley not at all.
Becker=brand. 100% agree with you .
I show little understanding? Oh! and you do? Under what qualifications? Do you run a sucessful business, work in the big end of town, or mix with people with money & power? or float down the harbour in a 65ft Princess?(thats a motor launch BTW)
What you have highlighted is exactly my point. Its crap. Also for golfers/racing car drivers, Rugby players ..the list go on.
Yes it is business and a stupid one.
> I don’t think anybody is worth that kind of money
Something is “worth” what somebody is prepared to pay!
I don’t think anybody is worth that kind of money. I’d think better of him, like you, if he did something useful with some of it, instead of messing around with his hair all the time. I used to think that he was a nice guy, but isn’t he even slightly peturbed at the unnatural shape of his wife and her influence on vulnerable girls who starve themselves to try and look that way? Why doesn’t he ever comment on that?
Tom, That’s wishful thinking.
Jean-Luc, Yes, I’m sure they are still hoping.
He could have had a long glittering career, but it shows the both of them are only interested in making money. It’s the only reason that woman stayed with him, so she could have wealth. Probably hoping to be ‘Lady Beckham’ as well. Fortunately that didn’t happen.
at least it means he won’t be coming back to the UK!
CityUnslicker, I thought Becks’ appeal was on the wane, particularly after his captaincy of England and the last world cup. He didn’t really go down brilliantly in Madrid and he is not a household name in L.A. So he is very lucky indeed to have landed such an incredible contract. I could understand it if he was heading for Japan where he wears all but a halo.
At the same time, I think the Brits will always have a soft spot for him, like George Best. Becks is a British brand too.
Like your photo of Posherexia. Did you like mine?
In one word….NO !!!!
Good luck to him. If there is someone somewhere on this earth willing to pay that amount of money to him, he should grab it with both hands.
As to charitable work, I understand that he does quite a bit. It is his money to do with as he pleases. I have already seen viewers emailing Sky News to complain that ‘why doesn’t he give some to the NHS’ and such like. Why should he? That is what we pay taxes for.
In England, there is not that great a tradition of people giving to charity, compared, say, to America. As things stand, David Beckham has done a lot more for charity than many others. I’m sure he will do more, but it is his money. He can do whatever he wants with it.
There’s an interesting article in the New York Times about Beckham.
“For Beckham, whose time as a world-class midfielder has passed, the move may be a savvy exit strategy from the intense European soccer spotlight. The British news media, ever eager to pounce on weakness, have been particularly savage about Posh and Becks, as they are called in Britain, since his meager performance as England’s captain in the World Cup last summer.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/12/sports/soccer/12beckham.html?hp&ex=1168664400&en=bcec5ccc7b479d44&ei=5094&partner=homepage
“Football is an international language, kids love it all over the world. I would like to see Beckham extend his UK Academy (which incidentally also has a base in LA) to equally deprived areas around the world on a not-for-profit or scholarship basis. It could well help discover many world class players who would never otherwise have been given the chance. It would make a dream come true for thousands of star-struck Beckham fans who just kick a ball about in the street and don’t have the same opportunities as others”.
His academy ought to be looking at deprived areas of the UK. Do you know we’ve lost 34000 playing fields in recent years. Many of them disappeared under the Conservative reign.
Simon,
You show little understanding of how ‘big’ Beckham is as a brand. With his looks and charm he is worth a fortune to advertisers.
As a comparison, even with this contract Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher still earn double what he will.
Also I happen to think that more money will be spent on academies etc than on new plastic bits for Posh.
Give them a break I say, a successful British couple. Your just jealous you don’t have their good fortune; and you fail hide with some nonsene about ‘western prosperity.’
NO. its crap 100%. its highlights the absolute stupidity of our western “prosperity”.
His performance for the past 2 years has been poor too… and IF they pay based on this well.. its just stupid.
You could feed an African nation for less.
(
“does anyone know what has happened to Sven, has he found a new job?”
Let’s hope it’s the Argentinean Managers job!
As for Beckham good luck to him. I don’t think him earning anymore money is going to make him and VB any happier. It just seems such a superfical set up that the only common goal for them both is money and celebrity status.
Snafu, I don’t believe you should just take from life, but you should give back too. Beckham is in a privileged position and can make a big difference to the lives of so many disadvantaged children who idolise him. Other philanthopists might have their own agenda, whereas Beckham Academies in Brazil and Romania, Rwanda and Croatia, would be a gift from heaven for the kids there.
I feel sure that it is his “marketing value” as well as his football prowess that is under consideration here. The Americans are an astute lot commercially, I guess they expect to reap the financial harvest!
You can’t blame him…
Ellee, someone with $250m clearly thinks David Beckham is not only worth it but a bit of a bargain as they hope to profit from it!
It’s not for us to decide how David Beckham spends his money as it’s his and his alone. You will be reassured that America has a history of philanthropism though so it’s unlikely it will all be wasted on clothes, perfumes and sunglasses!