Beckham inc.

Check out 'Beckham - the Stateside reaction' to read some insightful, and some typically American reactions to young David's transfer to LA Galaxy.

On the whole, I'm a fan of Becks. There are several reasons for him to be an idiot: he and Posh are international A-listers; (right up there with Tom and Katie, Brad and Angelina and Chris and Gwyneth) he is fantastically wealthy; and has had a very successful career in the world's biggest sport. Despite all this, however, he seems (and is widely reputed) to be a very decent, well-grounded and down-to-earth individual, who is genuinely committed to his family and loyal to his friends.

I don't quite buy the claim that he is going to LA for purely footballing reasons, though: the boy has obviously just got stars in his eyes. When he signed for Real Madrid in 2003 they were known as FC Hollywood, due to their abundance of footballing superstars. Four years down the line, and David is swapping Real Hollywood for the real Hollywood. He has said in the past that after retiring from football, he would like to get into movie acting. Where better to be based? He and Victoria count Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes as close friends, and it won't be long before they are sharing front-cover space with them on all the US tabloids and gossip mags. Posh and Becks know this, and I bet they can't wait.

Beckham will, I'm sure, give everything he's got on the field of play: football was his first love, and it was as a top class player that he first came to international fame. Over the years, however, his love of the celebrity limelight has become more and more significant, and this latest transfer suggests that it has overtaken footballing success as his main motivation. The move to Madrid, despite all the glitz and glamour, at least made professional sense - he was being courted by arguably the best team in he world. LA Galaxy, as a football squad, cannot even begin to compare, and Major League Soccer is hardly the right environment for anyone interested in retaining their status as a world-class player. Beckham knows that the chances of him winning back his England place will be very slim if he leaves the big European leagues.

Good luck to him, I say. He has been a super player and a gentleman. He's not going to be the former for very much longer, but I do sincerely hope that, amongst the pouters and prima-donnas of LA, he can continue to be the latter.