The former England captain will leave Real in June and begin his new career in Major League Soccer in August. The contract is worth US $250million. [£128milliom, £492,000 p/w]

 

Beckham said in a statement: "This week, Real Madrid asked me to make a decision regarding my future and the offer to extend my contract by a further two seasons.

 

"After discussing several options with my family and advisers to either stay here at Madrid or join other major British and European clubs, I have decided to join the Los Angeles Galaxy and play in the MLS from August this year.

 

"I would like to thank the supporters and people of Madrid who have made my family and I feel so welcome in my time here, making this an extremely difficult decision to make.

 

"I have enjoyed my time in Spain enormously and I am extremely grateful to the club for giving me the opportunity to play for such a great team and their amazing fans.

 

"I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own.

 

"For the rest of this season I will continue to give 100% to my coach, team mates and fans as I believe Fabio Capello will bring this club and its supporters the success they truly deserve."

 

In terms of finances, it is a mega deal and compares with the biggest in mainstream US sports American football and baseball.

 

The MLS have recently changed their salary cap rules to allow sides to make 'marquee signings' of top international stars. The Beckham deal will see the 31-year-old benefit directly from all his image rights and related sponsorship deals which in the past have had to be shared with his club.

 

The Real Madrid future of the world's most famous footballer had been shrouded in doubt, especially after coach Fabio Capello this week dropped him from the squad - the first time it had happened to Beckham since he moved from Manchester United in July 2003.

 

During those three-and-a-half years, Beckham has seen six different coaches appointed while Real have failed to win a single trophy.

 

Capello's arrival at the start of the season could have heralded a new era for Beckham, who was dropped from new England boss Steve McClaren's squad in August, but instead he found himself often sidelined.

 

Real had been very keen to keep the midfielder - his marketing power remains a huge draw to fans across the globe - but after talks on Thursday, he announced he will be moving to Los Angeles.

 

Real Madrid confirmed Beckham would be leaving in the summer in a statement on Thursday.

 

The statement read: "Real Madrid have had a meeting with representatives of David Beckham this morning in the offices of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

 

"After this meeting, both parties have decided that David will not extend his present contract with the club, which finishes on June 30, 2007."

 

 

What a w****r. I used to really like him, but anyone getting paid 450k per ****in week is a t*** in my eyes. -_-

Utterly insane :rolleyes:

 

Great player and great role model but that is absurd money

Based on how he has been playing recently i'd barely pay him £4.92 a week <_<

Based on how he has been playing recently i'd barely pay him £4.92 a week <_<

 

Well he hasn't been playing at all bar the odd 20 mins Capello gives him

Well he hasn't been playing at all bar the odd 20 mins Capello gives him

 

Precisely :lol:

 

More fool whoever the idiot paying him almost £500k a week is, imo

Well Becks England career must be well and truely over now if he's going to L.A.

 

He's getting payed WAY too much as well. No football player is worth that much a week no matter how good they are.

Even at his peak there was no way he was worth even a tenth of this.... This is just greed, pure and simple...

I would rather see doctors and nurses and so on get good money than someone get these obscene amounts kicking a ball about

I admire Beckham a lot, he keeps himself in shape, barely drinks and usually has soft drinks socially, doesn't drink and drive and get into punch ups or beat up his partners like many of his fellow pro's do and he runs a series of soccer schools that are helping develop future talent including not charging poor people to attend, the guy deserves a lot of credit despite the media circus but this sort of money ? the world has gone mad

I admire Beckham a lot, he keeps himself in shape, barely drinks and usually has soft drinks socially, doesn't drink and drive and get into punch ups or beat up his partners like many of his fellow pro's do and he runs a series of soccer schools that are helping develop future talent including not charging poor people to attend, the guy deserves a lot of credit despite the media circus but this sort of money ? the world has gone mad

 

There was that thing with Rebecca Loos's or whatever she's called, but I don't know how much truth there was in all that. Still aside from that compared to a lot of footballers he is very clean and he works hard and helps others.

 

But still that doesn't justify how much he's getting payed. Nearly 500k a week for kicking a ball a ball about is just ridiculous.

Read an article in a paper today about the rise and fall of beckham... how at one stage he was worth about £80m, but then because of the Rebecca Loos thing and various other elements, his value has decreased and he's now worth £40m, which is apparently only £10 more than when he first hit the spotlight.

There was never any hard evidence in the Loos thing and she did not seem the most savoury of characters anyways so would not have put it past her making the whole thing up to cash in

There was never any hard evidence in the Loos thing and she did not seem the most savoury of characters anyways so would not have put it past her making the whole thing up to cash in

 

I wouldn't have put it past her either, but I think there is some truth in her story; i'm not sure how much but I think there is at least some.

There was never any hard evidence in the Loos thing and she did not seem the most savoury of characters anyways so would not have put it past her making the whole thing up to cash in

 

The word 'whore' springs to mind whenever someone brings her name up for some reason..... <_<

 

Stupid Americans.

 

How the hell do LA Galaxy have that money anyway?!

Stupid Americans.

 

How the hell do LA Galaxy have that money anyway?!

 

Owned by a guy richer than Abramovich - Dietrich Materschitz who owns Red Bull

Owned by a guy richer than Abramovich - Dietrich Materschitz who owns Red Bull

 

So, in this case it's a 'stupid German' rather than a 'stupid American'.... :lol:

 

Owned by a guy richer than Abramovich - Dietrich Materschitz who owns Red Bull

 

Well its a good job he's got money to waste!

The £128m deal is understood to comprise his salary, existing sponsorship contracts, merchandising shirt sales and a share of the club profits

 

The 500k per week isn't just his wages. And tbh I doubt he gets much less than that at Madrid with the amout of stuff he does... I'm not trying to say that the money isn't completely ludacrous (sp) but it's not ALL just a 'weekly wage'

 

I do think he's been a fantastic player and still is. He has a hell of a lot to offer and could easily cut it at a big European club. But he's always said that he wants to go to America and open academies to teach American kids about the game (maybe in a few years they'll be calling it football and not fukking soccer!). How many other playes of ANY nationality would do something like that? Absolutely none. He's a model proffessional!