David Beckham insists that the chance to make history, rather
than record amounts of money, is the main motivation behind his
decision to move to MLS.
The former England skipper revealed on Thursday that he will travel
to the United States at the end of the season on a five-year deal
worth a staggering £128million, swapping galactico status for a
place amongst the LA Galaxy.
Apart from earning far more than any other professional footballer
on the globe, the move to the United States will present the Real
Madrid midfielder with the chance to become an ambassador for the
game in a country where Baseball, Basketball and American Football
reign supreme.
Beckham will be following in the footsteps of former world stars
such as Pele, George Best and Johan Cruyff when he goes to collect
his record paycheque in the summer, but the 31-year-old is hoping
to establish a more lasting legacy than the now defunct NASL which
eventually collapsed in 1984.
"Of course it's a huge amount of money... it's an amazing amount of
money," Beckham told ABC News regarding his £70,000-a-day
deal.
"I said yesterday and some people laughed at me, but this move for
me is not about the money, it's about hopefully making a difference
in the US with the soccer and that's what I'm going there
for.
"I'm going for the life of course, for my kids to enjoy it and my
wife to enjoy it, but the main thing for me is to improve the
soccer and to improve the standard and to be part of history
really.
"I think soccer can be a lot bigger in the US. From a young age
kids are brought up with soccer - they're brought up with soccer to
a certain age and then they seem to go into other areas.
"Hopefully that's what I'll be there for, to pass my experience on
to them."
After cultivating his superstar status in Manchester and cementing
his place as a global icon in Madrid, Beckham admits he is looking
forward to the challenge of expanding his brand in
California.
"Moving there as a family is a thing for us, it's a big plus,"
Beckham added. "We've spent four years in Spain, obviously we lived
in England before that.
"Now we're moving to a totally different country with a different
culture, a culture that we will embrace and we're looking forward
to embracing."