Former England captain David Beckham’s plan to become the “boss” of a team in the Major League Soccer (MLS) is becoming more favorable when American basketball superstar LeBron James said he is talking to Beckham to join the plan to invest in the club.
LeBron James plays for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Guardian (UK) quoted James as saying: “Beckham and I have become good friends over the years. This cooperation, I think both sides benefit. It would be great if Miami had a football team because there are many good conditions here to develop football. The foundation of this is the young players who are improving and the enthusiasm of the fans.”
LeBron James’s “intention” to collaborate with Beckham is certainly not a joke. It is known that LeBron James is very “bloodthirsty” to become a businessman when he owns a small amount of shares in Liverpool FC (England) as well as the Boston Red Sox baseball team, through an agreement with the Fenway Sports Management group.
Although Beckham has his own advantages, as he is receiving a special offer of buying shares in an MLS team at a 25% discount after retiring (a contract clause when he joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007). Along with that is the enthusiastic support of Miami fans and the MLS organizing committee.
But that doesn’t necessarily help Beckham get rid of all the difficulties because according to estimates, to have a new football “brand”, Beckham has to spend a lot of money (possibly beyond 25 million USD) such as building a new stadium and transferring players. A painful lesson for those who want to develop football in Miami is that in the past, this place used to have a team called Miami Fusion participating in the MLS but it was quickly eliminated because the number of spectators coming to the stadium was too low.
So the presence of basketball superstar LeBron James alongside Beckham could help things get better. In addition, the brands of both players will certainly create a strong attraction for fans, in the context that the MLS organizers are planning to expand the scale by increasing the number of participating teams from 19 to 24 in 2020.
