Frank Lampard and New York City FC: (No) Way Out of an Arranged Marriage?

When Chelsea FC monument Frank Lampard ended up in the Skyblues kit early this season, under a City Football Group construction, Chelsea fans did not know where they had it. Not that they seemed to really hold it against their former captain – they would later applaud him even after having scored a dramatic late equalizing goal against Chelsea. And they were right not to do so. Irrespective of one’s achievements and loyalty during one’s career, it seems that the hard laws of professional football make that at a certain age top clubs will just gently push their heroes aside, under the form of either a contract extension of very limited duration or a huge wage reduction – and most typically both.

This had been the case of Lampard, who thus decided to embark on the exciting new project of joining Manchester City’s new franchise in the Major League Soccer, New York City FC. At the new City franchise team, he would be playing aside other designated player David Villa. The expected arrival of both at the Big Apple was announced more than half a year before the club would start competing. Notwithstanding the fact the squad did not yet count eleven players, season ticket sales kicked off in earnest, thanks to figureheads Lampard and Villa.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

So as to keep both aging stars in good form ahead of the new MLS season commencing, in March 2015, City Football Group assigned Lampard and Villa to its other portfolio teams, Manchester City and Melbourne City, respectively. While not necessarily always in the starting line-up, Lampard has shown that he is still of great value to a club of the stature of the Premier League Champions. To such an extent even that Manuel Pellegrini is now making it heard he wants to hold on to Lampard, at least until the end of the season. The Citizens are both rather injury plagued and, surprisingly, in the end, made it through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, only for the second time in their history. Moreover, in the Premier league, the champions are only 3 points behind leaders Chelsea. Pellegrini thus sees in the 36-year old, who scored the only goal in last weekend’s league encounter with Leicester, a “very important player” for his team.

The Chilean does realize it is not just about what he – or even the player – wants, though. There is not only another team (New York City FC – although belonging to the same decision-makers as Manchester City) involved, but also, even much more critically, the Major League Soccer. It is clear that the MLS granted the City consortium the New York franchise based on the expectation to bring in players of the stature of Lampard and Villa. Likewise, newly declared fans bought their season tickets based on the same promise. When you come to the market with a new product, the last thing you would want to do is disappoint those who have been found willing to give you a try. To the extent that the City executives are in need of it, the MLS will surely remind them thereof.

Thus, it may seem unlikely we’ll be seeing Lampard playing his football in Europe much longer. However, every dissatisfactory solution has its alternative. It just happens to be that a very similar player to Lampard – in terms of both position and stature – is being led to the exit by his own Premier-League club. Indeed, Steven Gerrard, who nearly by himself was able to make the tactical errors of his manager Brendan Rodgers (see elsewhere on this blog) undone by qualifying the reds in extremis for the next round of the Champions League, is being forced by Liverpool FC to seriously reconsider his future at Anfield.

Liverpool FC proposed its 34-year-old captain a much reduced pay, from next season onward – should he decide to stay with them as a player – and their non-qualification for the Champions-League knock-out stages is unlikely to give them more financial breathing room. Their worst-case scenario would be to see Gerrard leave for free to a Premier-league competitor at the end of the season – which is not all that unlikely, with Stevie G recently having been linked to West Ham U, who are much more likely even than the Reds to feature in next year's Champions League. Thus, in case they are not willing and/or able to meet his needs, selling Gerrard off over Christmas – the last time the Reds could still get a transfer fee for him – to a cash-rich, non-direct competitor (i.e. NYC FC, through City Football Group) may well be their best available alternative. For Gerrard himself, it could well be an exciting new turn in his career and probably the best way for him to remain an icon at the club where he is most likely to return as staff member sooner rather than later.

Most importantly, for the MLS and NYC FC’s newly declared fans, Steven Gerrard may well be the only worthy and therefore acceptable alternative to Frankie Lampard – which, in turn, could only drive up the asking price for the Reds vis-á-vis City Football Group. A textbook example of a win-win solution? Let’s see if those writing the actual script agree.

Major League Beckham: Mindless Football Star or Hollywood Robber Baron?

“Football is an industry” and “football is entertainment” are two oft heard statements that true (European) football fans tend to have an allergic reaction to. Previously, because both were missing the point. Nowadays, perhaps more because of saudades to a long lost past. Authoritative sports news site sporza.be could not go past the presence of Beyoncé during Tuesday’s Qatari derby, PSG vs. FC Barcelona. So even those who did not see the CL game could rest assured they were abreast of its essentials.

A more noteworthy appearance in the Parc des Princes’ stands was David Beckham, who had concluded a most successful playing career in that very stadium with a heart-warming standing ovation only last year. What struck me most about Beckham’s close-up on Tuesday was how genuinely happy he seemed. According to the 'football as an industry' philosophy, it may have been an unpleasant day for him, though, as it was announced Kaká would soon be taking over from the former England captain as highest paid foreign player in the history of the MLS: Kaká will be netting US$ 7.1m p.a. at Orlando City, whereas Beckham reportedly earned US$ 6.5m p.a. when at LA Galaxy.

Source: futbolpulse.com

Even if he cared much about the money – and in case he doesn’t, surely his wife will – I would expect this comparison merely made Beckham smile. Abstracting from any sponsorship-related revenue, when signing his contract at LA Galaxy, Beckham's entourage ensured the inclusion of a clause that had been negotiated with the MLS. It concerned an option to enter a franchise team in the MLS (i.e. the US Premier League) in the future at an exercise price of US$ 25m – a fraction of what recent expansion teams were ordered to pay to the league (US$ 100m in the case of NYCFC and US$ 70m for both Atlanta and Orlando City). Furthermore, it is not just about coughing up the money; ask even the legendary NY Cosmos of Pelé and Beckenbauer how hard it is to even be considered for an MLS franchise these days. It should not be all that surprising, then, that already in early 2014, less than a year after his retirement, Beckham informed the MLS he intended to exercise his option.

Beckham’s expansion-team idea is a worthy textbook example of how to create and negotiate an outside-the-box option, one that is very easy for the other party to grant – it effectively cost the MLS zero at the time of negotiating Beckham’s LA Galaxy contract – and extremely valuable to oneself – a future monetary value of roughly US $70m to Beckham. Additionally, it was not the first time Becks and his entourage pulled off a trick like that. Beckham's signing for Real Madrid, in 2003, was facilitated by what became known as the 'Beckham law', a tax regime taxing qualified foreign workers in Spain at the lowest tax rate, regardless of their earnings. And when he then moved to the MLS, they there enacted...the 'Beckham rule', allowing for teams to designate a high earner to be exempt from the team's salary cap. Curiously also, in each of these cases, the major concession was beyond the prerogative of the club and was granted by a higher authority they somehow had been able to interest, viz. the league or the state.

And almost all of the credit goes to David Beckham. Did he come up with the expansion-option idea all by himself? More likely, he did not even have a clue about the stipulation as he signed his LA Galaxy agreement. Beckham is very much aware of the fact that he was not born the world’s smartest guy. It takes a humble person to acknowledge this and act upon it: Beckham thus surrounds himself with some of the canniest to take care of his business for him, rather than agents looking to sell him. So many averagely smart people refuse to acknowledge any need to do so and they tend to see their fortunes mysteriously vanish before their eyes as soon as they hang up their boots. The Greek philosophers can be proud of Beckham. Few if any in contemporary showbiz embody the adage that self-knowledge is the basis of all wisdom as well as this simple, working-class-born billionaire.

Source: foxsports.com

Regardless of the mostly irrelevant discussion about whether Kaká will actually become the highest-earning foreign player in MLS history, observers of the premier US soccer league may actually have something to get excited about. Next to Kaká, also Frank Lampard and David Villa are moving to the Land of the Free. And who would be surprised if Ronaldinho were to jump the Mexican border and pass through the MLS before playing his final trick?

Other than European leagues – at least traditionally – the MLS, by origin, is indeed an uncovered industry and so is David Beckham himself. In addition to having gotten the most out of his career and his image, Beckham is also getting the best of both worlds – idolatry in Europe and big business in the USA. One year after his retirement, he has all reasons to look happy. There is not a cloud in the sky for David. Whereas many of the stars of his generation must fear the uncertainty of whether they are found fit for a coaching career, Becks can soon preside over his own Miami-based club – and with a huge discount. It remains to be seen whether we will again witness someone who can bend it like Beckham.