David Beckham and Alexi Lalas shared the same stage in one of soccer's momentus occasions. They could soon become business partners as well.
Beckahm and Lalas are interested in buying a controlling stake in Spanish club FC Malaga, according to Marca.
"The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder could be looking at the possibility of buying up 75 percent of the shares of the Andalusian team together with former US international, Alexi Lalas," Marca reports.
"According to reports in various newspapers and without any official confirmations from the Spanish team, it would take the form of an exchange in which [Malaga owner Abdullah] Al-Thani will receive various lots of shares that Beckham and Lalas have in Arabian companies and clubs. The club's Vice President, Moayad Shatat, claimed to be unaware of the deal."
Lalas was the Galaxy general manager when Beckham joined the Major League Soccer club in 2007, and it is unknown how tight the bond between the two respected figures actually is. Lalas spends much of his time on America's East Coast working as an analyst with ESPN, while Beckham continues to bury free kicks for the Galaxy.
Malaga has been clouded in uncertainty in recent months. Al-Thani purchased the club for £96 million ($154.3 million) in 2011, and poured a lot of his own money into the club to construct a star-studded squad. The investment worked at the outset, as Malaga finished fourth in Spain's La Liga last season.
The prospect of UEFA Champions League qualification was supposed to see the club march toward a bright future, but Al-Thain stopped investing in the team. This forced Malaga to sell star players Santi Cazorla and Jose Rondon during the summer transfer window, and rumors said Al-Thain was set to sell the club.
Al-Thain and his Qatari partners denied the rumor earlier this month after Malaga qualified for the Champions Leage. But it seems they have re-emerged with the unlikeliest of suitors at the center of it all.
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Thumbnail photo via Flickr/vgrzegorek
