Spend it like Beckham
David Beckham spends like it's going out of style. . .
Money, money, money…Beckham loves to spend his massive fortune, and his long list of toys and houses leaves one to wonder how he has any time off from shopping to play soccer.
- David and Victoria Beckham took the kids out to an LA Toys ‘R Us where they spent over $5,000 on toys and goodies for their kids.
- Beckham wears a new pair of soccer cleats for
each game. Each pair of cleats costs $595.
- David spent £400,000 in 11 weeks at a hotel, only a third of his salary. He makes £110,000 a week.
- The Beckhams’ wardrobe is worth a reputed $500,000 and growing, as Posh continues her infamous spending sprees that even David has commented on. David has made comments that his clothing collection is bigger than Victoria’s.
- Beckham recently purchased a $22 million dollar house that neighbors famous friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes as well as Jay Leno and other Hollywood power players. In fact TomKat, along with fellow celebrities Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett, threw a “Welcome to the USA” party for the Becks on July 25th, 2007 in L.A. The party was strictly A-list.
- A palatial mansion just outside of London that has been dubbed “Beckingham Palace” worth between £4.5-5 million
- £1.25 million 2001 converted barn in Cheshire county that the Beckhams have never actually lived in becuase the house is supposedly haunted.
- A villa in Palm-Jumeirah, an artificial island in the United Arab Emirates that is chock full of stars like Brad Pitt and Robbie Williams…The villas range from £800,000 to 1.5 million, and you can be sure that Beckham wasn't buying on the cheap end.
- Beckham also owns a mansion in one of Madrid's most exclusive and fashionable neighborhoods; worth £4.5 million. Not to mention the home on the French Riviera worth £1.5 million that the Becks rarely, if ever, use.
- David's brand value is worth well over $400 million and may well grow near a billion if he can break into the American market.
- In 2004, David Beckham ranked as the 621st richest man in Britain
Contracts- he kicks a ball very well!
Beckham has one of the biggest contracts in MLS history, with 250 million dollar potential. Hopes are high among the MLS officials
and LA Galaxy administration that Beckham can raise soccer’s prestige and popularity in the United States. Many consider Beckham the only player with enough skill, popularity and media savvy to be able to crack the American conscious.
Beckham’s movie-star looks, high profile marriage to a pop-star and his
on field antics give him the potential to be amongst America’s most popular sports icons. However, there is great pressure on the 32 year old star. Pele, the greatest soccer player of the 20th century and possibly who has ever lived, was not able to bring soccer into the mainstream of Americana when he played for the now defunct New York Cosmos from 1975-1977. Beckham also faces many challenges in the league itself. The level of play will not match the elite level of Real Madrid and Manchester United, nor will the officiating be up to par. Many fear that the referees would rather give Beckham something to sign than a caution or red card. The MLS also includes rules prohibiting chartered flights for teams and other perks that were customary in the groomed and privileged European teams that David has left behind. David will probably spend much of his time on a cramped commercial flight, in the MLS away games are cross continent not a relatively close 200 miles like in the English or Spanish premier league. Who knows what the effect the travel strains will rack upon Beckham’s 32 year old body.
There is no doubt that David Beckham will stand out amongst the LA Galaxy, but will he be able to fit in amongst the motley crew assembled to play with him? Beckham will be making a base salary of $5.5 million dollars, which is roughly 50 times the average salary in Major League Soccer according to the players union. Beckham will have to ingratiate himself with teammates like Landon Donovan, the Galaxy’s other star who makes about $900,000; and Kyle Martino, 2002 MLS rookie of the year, who earns $52,500 a season. Beckham, who has experienced both very close ties with his first team Manchester United and very chilly relations with Real Madrid, is hopeful for strong camaraderie within the LA Galaxy squad, but there are vast differences that must be breached. The Galaxy and MLS in general is made up of home-grown soccer stars who have always played, what is considered to be, a second tier sport in the states. Beckham, and few other foreigners, grew up where soccer was the premier world game, strikers, sweepers, and goalkeepers were idolized on the national scale.
