Word has leaked from sources in America that LA Galaxy star David Beckham has a clause in his contract which will allow him to buy a stake in an MLS franchise at the end of his contract in 2011.

Whether the franchise in question is limited solely to LA Galaxy is unknown but it's another canny commercial move from Beckham and his management team and yet another bonus for him if he can raise the profile of the game in the States over the course of the next few years.

Beckham himself has admitted that moving the MLS onto a higher level may take five or ten years and that anyone hoping for miracles in the next year or two will be disappointed but I think that's an honest assessment that any soccer fan or potential investor will understand. The European game has been built on a professional footing for over a century amongst some of the most die hard soccer fans in the world. Building the MLS fanbase amongst the already entrenched US sports such as American Football and basketball is no small task and with a poster boy like David Beckham making only five appearances for LA Galaxy last season, it's made all the more difficult.