Beckham to spice up L.A.

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American soccer has a glamorous new face: David Beckham, one of the world's most famous players.

In a stunning move yesterday, David Beckham signed a five-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer that will pay him an estimated $250 million in salary and endorsements -- nearly $1 million a week.

Beckham brings glitz, glamour and a pop-star wife -- he's married to ex-Spice Girl Victoria Adams -- to a struggling league sorely in need of marketing power.

Major League Soccer (MLS) has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since it began play in 1996 and failed to find firm footing in a sports landscape dominated by more familiar team sports. The league hopes Beckham can change that.

"There are so many great sports in America," said Beckham, 31. "There are so many kids that play baseball, American football, basketball. But soccer is huge all around the world apart from America, so that's where I want to make a difference with the kids."

Beckham, with his movie-star looks and despite his fading skills, is perhaps better poised than any other player to do just that. Beckham is an enormously popular fashion icon and tabloid fixture in Europe, the player whose curling free kicks inspired the hit movie "Bend It Like Beckham."

Beckham and Ms. Adams make a good fit for Los Angeles as two celebrities who already end up on magazine covers and in the pages of tabloids.

Ms. Adams, aka Posh Spice, went house-hunting in the Los Angeles area in December and checked out a mansion near the home of the Beckhams' friends, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

L.A. will have to wait, however, at least for a little while. The Galaxy opens its season on April 8, but Beckham isn't expected to join his new team until August. His four-year contract with Real Madrid expires at the end of this season.

The Galaxy is operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which was founded by billionaire Phil Anschutz and operates three MLS teams.