I think I found the moment, the player, and the two clubs that started the evolution of our favourite game into something strange – and it is David Beckham. Yep, the man who became one of the first footballers to cross the billion-dollar mark in wealth.
He is the player who helped shift the perception of footballers: from being just athletes to becoming global style icons – where life off the pitch sometimes felt more interesting than the football itself.
“David Beckham cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn’t score many goals. Apart from that, he’s alright. But God, can he cross a ball.”
George Best (On David Beckham)
Source: BBC Sport Archive.
There are two moments when David Beckham changed modern football into something more commercial and, for some fans, more “show-like”.
The first was his transfer to Real Madrid CF. The second was his move to MLS, when his contract structure with Major League Soccer included significant sponsorship and commercial agreements that went beyond traditional transfer models.
In those moments, clubs began to fully understand that football is also a global show — where footballing ability alone is not always the decisive factor, and where a player can function as a global brand.
Thank you, David, for all those beautiful Pepsi ads — but also for changing the way we understand our favourite game.
With this quote we are opening the series of the best George best quotes
