Reprinted from bloomberg.com (original story here):
LA Galaxy May Let Beckham Stay in Milan Until 2010, People Says
By James Cone
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Los Angeles Galaxy may allow David Beckham to extend his stay at AC Milan if the England midfielder agrees to return to Major League Soccer after the 2010 World Cup, the People said, without saying where it got the information.
The Galaxy, which allowed the 33-year-old to join Milan on a three-month loan, will demand around 15 million pounds ($22.2 million) from the Italian club to complete the deal, according to the newspaper.
Beckham, who joined the Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007, has said he wants to make his move to Milan permanent. Anschutz Co.’s AEG, which owns the U.S. club, would hope the England midfielder returns to it in 18 months, the People said.
Beckham joined Milan last month to stay in shape during the U.S. soccer offseason. He earns $5.5 million a year with the Galaxy and the five-year contract could be worth as much as $250 million with endorsements and profit-sharing, according to the club.
So what does it mean? Probably nothing, but it's the first evidence I've seen that some kind of compromise may be in the works. If "The People" (anyone have any insight into this newspaper's credentials?) is right, this looks like some kind of hybrid transfer agreement; on the face of it, I'm not sure why Milan would agree to something like this. If they lose Beckham after 2010, why would they pay the Galaxy $22.2 million? I guess it's possible that the Italian giants recognize Beckham's value as a "shirt-seller", especially if he is in the England squad in South Africa.Seems very odd though, so I'm going to assume it's mostly crap.
Oh, and the link to "the newspaper" in the Bloomberg story doesn't exactly back up their secondhand reporting; it just leads to search results on The People's website for "David Beckham".
Any thoughts?
