david beckham He was always undervalued as a footballer, a constant in all areas of his life in which he has entered. He was one of the best free kick takers and crosses there has been in England, and adding a delivery and a commitment always made him curry favor with peers and coach. However, the general public was dazzled by his media dimension, which transcended football, as he was a partner of Victoria, then Posh, the posh Spice Girl. Today she is a renowned clothing designer.
David hung up his boots after being a member of the Fergies Boys, the Manchester United that changed the English league and gave birth to the almighty Premier. AND later it became the last “galactic” of the real Madridwhich he arrived in 2003 after Figo (2000), Zidane (2001) and Ronaldo (2002).
A professionalism different from that of his peers
Beckham was preceded by his fame fashion victim, but the Englishman, beyond being a social phenomenon, was one of the friendliest and most accessible players on the team. He was a professional who took each training session as the last and never hid from the microphones.
The night of May 1, 2003 serves as an example. In his first season as a player of the real Madrid, when Javier Irureta’s Deportivo clearly beat the whites 2-0. After Queiroz spoke in the press room, The only white footballer who stood up after the defeat in the mixed zone and answered questions from the international, national, regional and local media with kindness and enormous professionalism was Beckham. That he spent almost an hour responding kindly to the point of being warned to get on the team bus where his teammates were waiting for them, who had preferred not to show their faces.
A common practice in the white squad, and in many others, when a game is lost. Not for Beckham, who had a much better sense of responsibility and business than his peers.
In 2007 Beckham left Madrid to join the Los Angeles Galaxy, a team from the unknown American MLS. “David is going to Hollywood because he wants to be an actor or what do I know. It’s a shame,” said Ramón Calderón, president of Real Madrid at the time, to explain his departure at the age of 31 to that residual adventure in which he went from earning 18 million euros per season to earning only 6. There are financial estimates that date the income generated by Beckham in Madrid in his four years at 600 million, which explains Calderón’s annoyance when announcing his departure.
After a successful career, in which he also wore the shirt of Milan and PSG, winning Champions, leagues and Premiers, Beckham moved away from elite football to gain some perspective. Because his stay in the United States made him interested in the MLS and its development as a league with potential and a profitable business. He signed for four seasons, in which he earned 32 million, but, in reality, his intention was to do field work, an advanced master’s degree on the ground of the real business possibilities offered by the MLS.
He signed for the Galaxy and bought a club
But the real reason that pushed Beckham to go to the United States was the inclusion in his contract of a clause that guaranteed him to be able to buy an MLS franchise for 25 million dollars in a future expansion. In the United States, all sports function through professional private leagues: American football (NHL), basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB)… Beckham secured ownership of a franchise for $25 million in 2007.
In February 2014, Major League Soccer announced that Beckham, along with a group of investors, would own an expansion team in Miami, the Miami Inter, that it would start its participation in 2016 or 2017. But it was not until 2018 when the creation of the club was made official, of which Beckham is its current president. The price was the 25 million agreed in Beckham’s contract as a player, a ridiculous amount compared to the 100 million that was paid for the New York City license in 2013, the 150 for Austin FC, or the 325 that were paid to take over Charlotte FC.
In 2020 the team joined the competition and in June 2021 Inter was already valued at 625 million dollars. But everything has exploded after the announcement of the arrival of Lionel Messi, who will do so escorted by Sergio Busquets and possibly by Jordi Alba and Andrés Iniesta, who have two offers from Beckham’s team on the table. Messi’s yes has revalued the club by up to six times what it had in 2021 according to the North American economic newspapers. Which would place it above three billion dollars. And the immediate effect of signing Messi caused Inter to go from having 1 million followers on Instagram to having 6.8 million, with an increase of 580% in 3 days. And on Twitter it went from 176,000 to 176% more, with 460,000 followers. It matters little that the team is currently the last in the Eastern Conference.
Beckham has gone from footballer to successful businessman while living with his label as a media icon with ease. His commitment to Miami, the Latin center of the United States, is not accidental either. And his good eye for business confirms that Inside that head that was greatly underestimated, there is an intelligent and kind guy who is today one of the most valued leaders in world sport.
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