Pondering Beckham

The talk of the soccer world lately has been the David Beckham/AC Milan soap opera (not surpisinly, knowing how much the soccer world LOVES a good soap opera), anad a lot of that talk has come from those with an axe to grind.

The European press, aghast first that Beckham would play in MLS, aghast second that his foray into America wasn't a sign that he would never be able to play at the highest level again, is aghast third that the LA Galaxy hasn't rolled over and given Becks away to the might rossoneri for the first offer they made (whether they actually made it or not, which is still something of an open question).

As a result, their reporting has been wildly slanted and, in some cases, probably just made up out of thin air.

As far as anyone can tell, Milan made an offer of $3 million, to which the Galaxy and MLS replied with a polite, “No, thank you.” MLS commish Don Garber then set a deadline for negotiations of last Friday (Feb. 13), saying that he had a season to start and inviting Milan to merda or get off the pot.

Since then, Milan and Beckham and other Milan players and coaches have all weighed in, and kept flapping their gums about how much they want Beckham to stay with Milan, how “indispensable” he is, and how hard they’re trying to make a deal.

But, again as far as anyone can tell, they really haven’t done anything BUT flap their gums since.

This got me to wondering, what if Milan actually DOESN’T want to keep him, or at least pay to keep him?

First, Beckham is much more valuable financially to the Galaxy than he is to Milan. If Milan were making a run in the Champions League or had a legitimate shot at the Scudetto this year, it might have been different, but it isn’t. It would take a miracle (read: more bribery than even they could afford) to get them to the top of the league, and to a club like Milan, the UEFA Cup is hardly worth paying much for.

Furthermore, as his current hamstring reminds us all, he isn’t a spring chicken, and isn’t going to be part of Milan’s long-term plans, justifying an eight-figure transfer fee.

On the other hand, LA and MLS have put a lot of financial eggs into the Beckham basket, a heck of a lot more than $3 million worth. The team would have to go out and find a replacement for him on the roster, for one, and the league and its sponsors would be left holding the bag if the face of the league bolted.

What if Milan is just pretending to work real hard for their newest friend, to keep him happy while he’s still around, knowing full well that LA won’t take anything less than a lot more than they’re willing to part with for him?

Maybe MLS and LA know this, maybe they don’t. Maybe Milan is just blowing smoke up everybody’s kilt, and maybe Garber and Galaxy head honcho Tim Lieweke are parties to the charade for the benefit of keeping Beckham, who has said that he wants to stay, but will return to LA if a deal isn’t done, as a courtesy to a club to which they don’t want to burn a bridge.

I don’t know if this is the case or not. But if it were, things would be happening exactly as they are now.