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60 MINUTES
Air Date: Sunday, March 23, 2008
Time Slot: 7:00 PM-8:00 PM EST on CBS
Episode Title: "N/A"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

SOCCER SUPERSTAR DAVID BECKHAM AND HIS MANAGER HAVE AN OPTION TO BUY AN AMERICAN MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER TEAM, REPORTS "60 MINUTES" IN A PROFILE OF BECKHAM SUNDAY

The English player brought to the United States to jumpstart Major League Soccer has an option to buy his own MLS team when his contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy runs out, 60 MINUTES reports in a profile of the superstar, David Beckham. CNN's Anderson Cooper's interview of Beckham, in which he demonstrates his famous "bend it" soccer kick, will be broadcast Sunday, March 23 (7:00-8:00 pm, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Beckham, together with his manager Simon Fuller, the man who created "American Idol," will have an option to buy their own Major League Soccer franchise sometime in 2011, at the end of Beckham's Galaxy contract.

The deal that brought Beckham to Los Angeles was unprecedented in team sports. Not only does he receive a $5.5 million annual salary, but also a large share of revenue from Galaxy ticket, merchandise, and concessions sales. Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, the company that owns the Galaxy, says that despite injuries and limited playing time, Beckham beat expectations financially. "When we sat down, on a piece of paper, and said to David, 'Here's what we think you can make here,' he did better than that."

In the profile, the 32-year-old player shows off his most potent weapon, his right foot. For the first time on camera in the U.S., Beckham demonstrates the technique he uses to bend the soccer ball over or around opponents when he takes free kicks, with Cooper tending goal.

Beckham also discusses his big move from Europe to America, the ups and downs of his career and his lucrative endorsements.

He also takes viewers on a tour of his tattoos, including a recent one of his wife, Victoria, who is known throughout the world as "Posh Spice," part of the British hit-making music group, the Spice Girls. Click here for a "tour" of Beckham's tattoos.

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