Platinum balls "I was on the phone to Tom Cruise for about an hour last night, and an hour the night before."

No, not me but LA's new plaything David Beckham of course. Who else would you turn to for advise? Gary Neville?

Beckham's signing for LA Galaxy was not entirely unexpected, in fact I have been following the story intently for a while but what has blown me away is his salary. Was Andrew Mills involved I ask myself? No, but a company we have talked about before, AEG, obviously were.

Tonight I came across this article in The Independent, which you might find hilarious but sadly 'soccer' fans here wouldn't because this is the best they have but as the MLS hemorrhage's its best players to Europe, clubs lose money and fans lose interest in the club game, if not necessarily the sport, Beckham is a huge shot in the arm but likewise a huge gamble.

In the country with such famous sporting icon's as A-Rod (annual wages of $21.6m), Shaq ($20m) and Vick ($23.1m), America's sporting public have been blown away by the salary that Becks is being paid over 5 years. "The best looking athlete in the world," as he was described on the television here tonight, will pick up a cool $50m a year until the age of 36.

I wonder what kind of reception he will get from his fellow 'soccer' players? This is a list of the top 10 earners in the MLS:

1. David Beckham; LA Galaxy $50m
2. Juan Francisco Palencia; Chivas USA $1.36m
3. Landon Donovan; LA Galaxy $900,000
4. Eddie Johnson; Kansas City Wizards $875,000
5. Juan Pablo Garcia; Chivas USA $624,260
6. Freddy Adu; DC United $550,000
7. Josh Wolff; Kansas City Wizards $420,357
8. Clint Mathis; Colorado Rapids $410,000
9. Eddie Pope; Real Salt Lake $394,688
10. Tony Sanneh; Chicago Fire $365,000  ¶ 21:14