00:00Opposites don't always attract, but sometimes they lead to the greatest creations.
00:05Think peanut butter and jelly.
00:07Okay, so maybe they're not exactly opposites, but come on.
00:12A thick fluid paired with something that can barely hold its own shape, easily shaken.
00:17Stick with me for a second.
00:19In 2007, David Beckham was a star who transcended the sport of soccer.
00:24A household name, whether you knew him through footy or not.
00:28Peanut butter.
00:30By 07, Major League Soccer had only existed for 11 years, still severely struggling to find its footing.
00:37Jelly.
00:38So when a massive star lands in a floundering league, it looks like a recipe for disaster.
00:45But give it a chance, and it could lead to a pairing that becomes impossible to separate.
00:51David Beckham's decision to join Major League Soccer is a big deal.
00:59It can't be understated just how massive of a phenom David Beckham was.
01:04Sure, being absurdly handsome and marrying a Spice Girl certainly didn't hurt, but damn was the bloke deadly on the
01:11pitch.
01:13Debuting for Manchester United at just 17, Bex went on to compile one of the greatest resumes in English football
01:19history with the Red Devils.
01:21Success on the field set him up for even more fame often.
01:25Whether it was fashion ads, endless headlines about his hairstyles, or being dubbed a sex symbol who just happened to
01:32play a sport, one way or the other, you knew the name David Beckham.
01:37Shit, they made an entire movie inspired by his free kick technique, and he was too busy to even appear
01:44in it.
01:44However, longtime Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson felt the glitz and glam pulled his star away from football, leaving
01:52the tension between them that eventually spilled into the public.
01:56Following a 2003 FA Cup lost to Arsenal, Ferguson famously lost it and kicked the cleat across the locker room,
02:05cutting Bex over the eye.
02:07Beckham called it an accident, but the damage had already been done.
02:11Intense transfer speculation followed, prompting journalists to believe the club would sooner sack Ferguson than lose the absurdly popular Beckham.
02:20When the transfer window ultimately opened, Beckham found himself on a new squad, going from the biggest club in England
02:27to arguably the biggest in the world, joining Spanish giants Real Madrid.
02:32The move was a spectacle, and Beck's markability alone pushed Madrid into a different financial stratosphere.
02:40But the club's game plan of stacking the world's greatest stars never delivered the success expected.
02:45Behind the scenes, the organization was a mess, cycling through six different managers in just four years, and Beckham himself
02:54appeared to be approaching the twilight of his career.
02:57At 31 on the international stage, Beck swatched his country fall to Portugal on pins at the 2006 World Cup
03:04and was dropped from the England national team a month later.
03:07At the club level, it wasn't much better.
03:10Real Madrid manager, Fabio Capelo made it clear he had no use for Bex, bitching him frequently at the start
03:18of the season as Beckham entered the final year of his contract, leaving his future with the club uncertain.
03:24Earlier in 2006, Beckham fully expected to hang up his boots as a member of Madrid, denying that any thought
03:32of leaving had ever crossed his mind.
03:35As both sides entered contract negotiations, talk stalled over image rights percentages.
03:41With the official transfer window approaching in the new year, the point at which Bex would be free to talk
03:47to other clubs, it became clear his time in Madrid might be over.
03:53Set to turn 32, experts believe he was far from his peak, but his global fame alone was enough to
04:00attract serious interest.
04:03Which seemed to be exactly the case, but what were his options?
04:09Behind door number one, we know for a fact that Real offered a two-year extension.
04:15Beckham had undoubtedly fallen out of favor with the coach, but if you're the team president, of course you feel
04:22inclined to offer the lad who skyrocketed your club's value a contract rather than let him walk for free.
04:28But for David, just how enticing is it to return to a team that spent the better part of a
04:34year making it known they didn't want you on the field just to ride the bench as a sideshell?
04:40Behind door number two is what I can only describe as a clusterfuck of media speculation linking him to a
04:48Premier League return, a move to Asia, Italy,
04:51why the hell does a mostly failing league in the United States have interest, and on and on.
04:57Rumors flew around left and right, and whether they had any legitimate merit, the common denominator was simply the allure
05:04of adding a larger-than-life star like Beckham to your roster.
05:08As a global icon, countries that weren't even particularly keen on soccer, like Japan and Qatar, were reportedly linked to
05:15Beck's on name recognition alone.
05:17In Italy, Ender Milan was said to be a solid suitor because, get this, Beck's and his wife are stylish,
05:25so of course landing in one of the fashion capitals of the world made sense.
05:30Although, from a technical standpoint, Ender's technical director didn't quite buy into the buzz.
05:36Those slim-fit tunnel suits really would've hit, though.
05:40A return to the prim made the most logical sense.
05:43His home country, his roots, and a league he knew better than anyone after spending the majority of his career
05:50racking up accolades at Man United.
05:52A club so special to Beckham that he couldn't imagine rocking the gear of another Premier League side.
06:00Not that the triumphant comeback was ever really on the table, his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson was still rocky.
06:07So, never say never, as interest from other clubs in the league was very real.
06:13Though, media members wondered if he still had the juice to compete at the elite level, with most expecting a
06:19more middling club to be his realistic destination.
06:22Again, there was a ton of hearsay flying around, but one development quite literally came from an undercover investigation.
06:30Former English national manager Sven Euron Eriksson, the man who handed Beckham the captain's armband, got caught up speaking very
06:40matter-of-factly that he could persuade Beckham to join him at Aston Villa.
06:45It's an absurd story involving Euron Eriksson getting finessed by reporters posing as sheiks, but the manager firmly knew Beckham
06:53missed the land of bangers and mash and was tired of taking L's in Madrid.
06:58Now, this is all coming from a guy being a little too loose with the lips, but it speaks to
07:04just how close the two were.
07:05So much so, that when Eriksson was later rumored to take the reins at French club Marseille, Beckham's name was
07:12quickly linked there as well.
07:14Our boy Sven gets around, huh?
07:17But let's take Eriksson at his word for a second.
07:19If someone that close to Beckham knew he was homesick and tired of losing, then why was a club thousands
07:27of miles away, in a league barely a decade old, reportedly the frontrunner to land them?
07:33The Los Angeles Galaxy were Major League Soccer's crown jewel, but just how much did that mean in a league
07:39that nearly went extinct just a few years prior?
07:43It ain't the best look when league executives and top players don't even buy into the possibility.
07:50Plus, we've seen this story before.
07:52Back in the 70s, America tried to establish footy as a major sport when the North American Soccer League went
07:59after massive stars like Pele, drawing some attention before losing steam and folding entirely.
08:05Yet, the Galaxy War team repeatedly reported to be in the mix, an idea that also might have been sparked
08:12by Bex himself.
08:14On multiple occasions, Beckham had spoken openly about his interest in eventually landing in America.
08:20Let's focus on this for a second.
08:22Bex said this in April of 06, before he was dropped by the national team and benched by Madrid.
08:28I would assume those humbling moments fall into the category of things changing.
08:34California wasn't some foreign land to Beckham either.
08:37In 2005, the international star partnered with entertainment group AEG to establish a soccer academy in Southern California.
08:46Those partners also just happened to be the majority owners of the Galaxy.
08:51So, when LA's front office threw their name behind wanting Beckham, one of few clubs who publicly did sub-assides
08:59Madrid,
09:00and prior to the official transfer window at that, he wouldn't be blamed for thinking both sides had been cooking
09:07up a plan for some time.
09:09Hell, even the commissioner of the league was on board.
09:12Still, bringing Beckham to MLS was a pipe dream as the league didn't have the capacity to do so.
09:18Wait, wait, wait.
09:20You're telling me they created an entire rule in November 2006, named after Beckham, that would specifically allow teams to
09:30land players outside the salary cap?
09:33Huh.
09:34And he was willing to miss training with Madrid to jet over to Italy and watch his Hollywood friends Tom
09:39Cruise and Katie Holmes get married that same month?
09:42Where are your priorities, David?
09:46Anyway, just a day after Madrid and David's camp announced they were still weighing the revised two-year extension, Beckham
09:52made it official.
09:54His next chapter would be in La La Land.
09:57The guy who had built this legend across Europe's biggest stages had options on the table, but was ready for
10:03new pastures in LA.
10:04His decision left critics with no shortage of opinions.
10:08Some believed it was simply a cash grab.
10:11Others felt the move was a massive gamble for both sides, but if his mission to make soccer a household
10:17sport in America was genuine, then it could only be truly accomplished by committing to MLS.
10:23And others figured Beckham was simply hitting the sunset of his career, unwilling to take the ego hit of signing
10:29with a lesser European club, making America the path of least resistance.
10:34One of those believers was his own manager.
10:36After Beckham's announcement, Capello declared David's time at Madrid was finished.
10:43Then Madrid's club president took it a step further, calling Beckham a Hollywood wannabe with fading talent that no major
10:50club wanted anyway.
10:52Shit, tell us how you really feel, guys.
10:55However, Capello's tune changed a bit later in the season, as Beckham not only returned to the pitch, but also
11:01played a crucial role in leading Madrid to their first La Liga title since his arrival.
11:07Real's president had a change of heart as well, and even tried exploring options in Beckham's contract to bring him
11:12back, which Galaxy officials swiftly shut down.
11:16That summer, Beckham was officially off to LA.
11:20After finishing his tenure in Madrid strongly, proving he had plenty left in the tank, the question again arose as
11:27to why Beckham decided to go what was universally seen as an inferior league.
11:31The contract was inescapable.
11:34The reported $250 million were later revealed to be an inflated figure padded by several outside deals, with his actual
11:43yearly salary coming in much lower.
11:46However, the unique kicker in Beckham's contract was the ability to purchase a franchise for the low upon retirement.
11:54Naturally, people called bullshit, fixating on the big number and pointing out how a move to LA conveniently played well
12:01for his wife's ambitions too.
12:03But if David's goal was to truly grow the game in a country that didn't fully appreciate it, buying into
12:09the league from the inside sounds like a pretty smart play.
12:12However, his initial time in MLS was a mixed bag.
12:16He brought excitement to the league, but injuries sidelined him for his first couple of seasons, during which he played
12:22sparingly for LA.
12:23Then came the 2009 loan to AC Milan, which raised serious questions about his true commitment to the league.
12:31Was he genuinely invested in American soccer, or was he simply using MLS as a training ground to eventually return
12:38to the big boys in Europe?
12:39When he returned, Galaxy fans let him hear it.
12:44But as always, winning cures all.
12:47And when David later helped lead the club to back-to-back titles, all was forgotten.
12:53But taking a gamble to win more trophies in the fledgling league isn't what made this a big deal.
12:58Beckham's impact on MLS as a whole is the real story.
13:02Numbers don't lie.
13:04In just a 10-year span since his arrival, the league grew dramatically.
13:08More teams, more players, and more bread flowing into everyone's pockets.
13:16He transcended the sport, bringing more eyes to the game, which made bigger broadcast deals and a far greater worldwide
13:23presence.
13:24The decision to bend the salary cap rules to accommodate Beckham opened the door for international stars to follow,
13:30laying out a blueprint that soccer could not only survive in America, but thrive.
13:35And when he eventually bought a team of his own with Inter-Miami, he helped bring arguably the greatest player
13:41of all time to American soil.
13:44David Beckham's arrival in MLS stands as one of the most pivotal moments in the league's history.
13:49And that, without question, is a very big deal.
13:54I don't know if so.
13:59I don't know if it's for sure.
