Wishing on a star
Just what could it possibly be that would cause David Beckham to pull up stakes in Madrid and move to Los Angeles to play for Major League Soccer's Galaxy?
Beckham, 31, earns $11.3 million a year sitting on the bench for Real Madrid, and his contract runs out in June. As of Jan. 1, he has been free to talk to other clubs.
Real Madrid has offered Beckham a two-year contract extension that would keep him in Spain until 2009.
This week, however, the "Will he go or will he stay?" drama showed every sign of approaching an imminent conclusion. "A few months ago we presented an offer to extend his contract that reflected his importance as a football player and as a marketing image," Predrag Mijatovic, Real Madrid's sports director, told a Spanish radio station.
"He asked for time to think about it, but we are in a situation where we don't have time. We have to decide now.
"Next week we will address the issue."
If Real Madrid wants to trade Beckham to another European club, it must do so before Jan. 31, when FIFA's international transfer window closes.
Simon Oliveira, Beckham's spokesman, had said that Beckham wanted a couple of months to weigh his future. "There is a significant deal on the table from Real," Oliveira told BBC Sports. "They are the only club we are genuinely talking to at the moment. David wants to take time over this decision. It will be the last significant deal of his football career."
But Real Madrid has decided to fast-forward the decision. "We have a meeting in the next 48 hours," Oliveira told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Chances are, if Beckham does not accept the contract extension, it will be withdrawn and he will be free to leave.
In the past, Beckham has said that only the world's finest soccer clubs move in his orbit, and the Galaxy, despite its name, is not a stellar team by any means.
"At the end of my career, I want to be known as a player who has played at the top level, for the top teams," Beckham told Britain's ITV television network in May. "And they don't come much bigger and better than Manchester United and Real Madrid."
So would he come to MLS simply to add a few million dollars to his bank account?
Not very likely. In December 2005, Beckham's net worth was reported by England's FourFourTwo magazine to be $130 million.
