I also wish we had kept him longer.
I wanted him to stay as i loved Becks but Gill made a very good point about his sale at the time. Beckham, Giggs and Scholes were all the same age and Keane was older so you can't have your entire midfield going over the hill at the same time. So we needed some new blood and someone had to be sacrificed, as good as he was Beckham wasn't as good a player as Scholes or Giggs for me and i assume Ferguson.
These things happens all the time. To me it signals the club don't give a shit about the money - the dignity is more important. Holding on to a player you don't want just because the money isn't right will make you look like you want something in return for losing an important player. The way we sold him was good in many ways. Beckham got his transfer and a decent fee to uphold his status. We got our money, got rid of the problem and also signaled to the fans we're not getting rid of an important player. One should also remember 24m was not that bad back then. I think it can compare to 40m today.
You think? I still think, even in this day and age, Fergie would've had a problem with Beckham's lifestyle. I can't remember a player after Beckham and before Fergie's retirement that had a similar lifestyle to Becks here at United. Maybe Rooney in terms of getting lazier when it came to putting effort into football, but Fergie did seemingly give up on him and put him up for sale by the end of his final season, too.
Yeah, I get that and don't dispute the reasoning behind it, but, with my fanboyish nature for Beckham, it doesn't ease the disappointment that he was sold. Personally, I think Beckham could've transitioned into a CM ala Giggs still allowing room for Ronnie to come, but there's no point going on about that now.
I was gutted myself mate, because i knew most likely the guy replacing him wouldn't have been a United fan and Becks was a top player. And yeah Beckham could have been a very good CM but Ferguson probably even back then had it in mind to move Giggs there. He started playing Giggs in Cm only 2 years later.
Ronaldo if he had stayed would have been similar. In Madrid he is with tons of sponsorships, CR 7 brand , model gfs, underwear and all that. Casillas, Ramos and more than anyone Pique have famous WAG s in the media / public all the time.
True! I think having both Giggs and Becks as rotation options for the wings and midfield would've been good but, yeah, it might've been a bit too much.
Yeah, if Ronaldo had stayed I don't think Fergie would've minded his lifestyle too much as SAF loved him too much. Though, to give credit to Ronnie, his off the field life hasn't effected the effort he's put into becoming the best he can be as a footballer which is incredible really.Ronaldo if he had stayed would have been similar. In Madrid he is with tons of sponsorships, CR 7 brand , model gfs, underwear and all that. Casillas, Ramos and more than anyone Pique have famous WAG s in the media / public all the time.
Of course there are very few players who have such a high profile and such a high profile WAG and at United we only had Becks and Ronaldo meeting it (even though there are differences between them).
We also had Best , though not under SAF
Though, that Sir Matt Busby wasn't too shabby as a manager either. Just a shame it was before my time.Selling him was a win win for both parties. He never hit the heights he had hit at United at Madrid.
In the end it's about success. Fergie didn't mind Becks' lifestyle much for 4 - 5 years , at least not as much that he had to get rid because he still saw him as a crucial part of our success. Only when he felt he was a bit declining and that coupled with the ever increasing brand Beckham he decided to get rid.
As for the Beckham/Giggs/Scholes midfield, I would've loved that! Though, not so much because I think it'd be a masterpiece of a midfield, moreso that it'd be because 3 of my favourite players ever playing together. The only stipulation would be not to play that against City away ala Giggs/Scholes/Park, more like a home game against Sunderland
Yeah, if Ronaldo had stayed I don't think Fergie would've minded his lifestyle too much as SAF loved him too much. Though, to give credit to Ronnie, his off the field life hasn't effected the effort he's put into becoming the best he can be as a footballer which is incredible really.
Oh, and the thought of Best under SAF in my lifetime.
I agree in that I didn't really see his lifestyle having a negative affect on his performances for us. I always felt he gave 100% and remained professional throughout not only his career with us, but the entirety of it. I suppose Fergie didn't, though, which is what matters. Maybe it was effort being shown in training, or maybe he just wasn't happy with the majority of his performances unlike us, but I believe his lifestyle played some part in their relationship going sour and ended up being the key reason for his departure.
Try telling Madrid that Barcelona offered more and we only want to sell at that price.
\thread
Didn't he stall the deal because he knew he was going to Chelsea and wanted to bring him there with him?
