Sports Then and Now

Over the decades, clubs have reached deep into their pockets to ensure that they have the world’s best players on their team. Some of these soccer stars have flourished under the pressure of their transfer fee while others have been crushed with the burden of expectations placed on them.

To keep things on a positive note, we’d like to bring 6 key transfers in the history of world football to your attention, that had a tremendous impact on the players career, the fate of a team or even of leagues. With plenty of offers for betting free on who goes where in todays transfer markets,  here we found our picks in no particular order for the best transfer:

1. David Beckham to the L.A. Galaxy

The year: 2007

The transfer fee: $30 Million

The impact: While this move didn’t brand Beckham as the next Pelé like L.A. Galaxy hoped it would, it did bring in a fortune for Galaxy in terms of advertising deals and brought international attention to the MLS. It also sparked the arrival of more international additions. So, while David Beckham didn’t perform as well on the field as fans had hoped, he did make a significant change to the team in other ways.

Every couple of years the MLS grabs worldwide attention with the signings of some major stars.

That started with David Beckham and since then, big names like Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard, David Villa and Kaka have made the journey across from Europe.

This year has welcomed two of the world’s biggest names in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney, which begs the question, has the MLS re-found its mojo and can it close the gap on Europe in terms of quality?

More attention is on the league than ever before and with the season currently at the MLS Cup phase it’s grabbing headlines worldwide and being bet on more than ever before.

There are new betting offers every day at the moment with Atlanta current 1-4 favorites with bookie Betfair to earn their first, ahead of the Portland Timbers who they’ll take on who are priced at a generous 11/4.

This attention is only good for the league and will encourage more players to make the switch to the USA. Read the rest of this entry →

David Beckham has several options after helping the LA Galaxy to the MLS title.

The future of David Beckham has been much discussed of late. After winning the MLS Cup with LA Galaxy he has been speaking about his options and even revealed that he hasn’t given up on an England career just yet.

Speaking of England, if you want Euro 2012 best odds, try this site. However, it does seem likely that a place in Great Britain’s 2012 Olympic team is more likely for Beckham than a return to the England team.

It is his club matters that need sorting our first though. His contract with LA Galaxy is up next month and there are many suggesting that he could end his time in America on a high. The 36-year-old still wants to play for a couple of years and it is being suggested that he will look for a new challenge.

There have of course been many rumours about where he might go. Premier League clubs such as Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers have been linked for example, while there was even talk of the New York Red Bulls hoping to persuade him to make the controversial move.

One club making their interest clear from the start though has been Paris St-Germain. The French club are therefore thought to be the front runners and Beckham – who has ruled out a return to England – is now faced with the decision of joining PSG or remaining at LA Galaxy.

The Ligue 1 side are getting massive investment at the moment of course, with the club’s Qatari owners looking to make a statement of their intentions with the signing of Beckham. Read the rest of this entry →