Pele, the man who many people consider the greatest soccer player of all-time, says the American public was misled by the prospect of David Beckham playing in Major League Soccer. Beckham had a disappointing, injury-laden first campaign with the L.A. Galaxy. So far, his biggest impact on MLS has been ticket and merchandise sales.
“[MLS] announced him as a scorer of goals,” Pelé told the Associated Press. “He isn’t a goal scorer. That was a mistake.” Perhaps – it’s hard to tell what the average U.S. consumer thought amidst the incessant hype about his coming to America, but soccer fans will have noted that Beckham’s game is all about short passes, crossing and free kicks. He’s an assist man, not a regular goal-getter, something the 32-year-old wished to remind fans following the Galaxy’s (disappointing) 0-0 draw with the USL-1’s Vancouver Whitecaps.
“Everybody in the world knows I’m not a goal scorer,” Beckham said. “The Galaxy wouldn’t have come out and said that.” Pele, meanwhile, added that Beckham foolishly played while still injured, which cut short his first season in MLS. “Beckham wants to be the star and that’s his big problem,” he said. “It is not easy to play in American soccer, because it is very tough.”