David Beckham regrets captaincy decision
When David Beckham joined the Los Angeles Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007, he instantly became the captain of the MLS side. Landon Donovan lost the captaincy as a result, and this led to tensions between the two stars of the LA Galaxy. Much of Donovan's frustrations were revealed in the late Grant Wahl's explosive book The Beckham Experiment.
The two players eventually made up and went on to win two MLS Cups with the Galaxy. However, Beckham has now revealed that he regrets taking the armband off Donovan. Speaking on CBS's Beckham and Friends, the Inter Miami owner said, "When I first moved to LA, Landon Donovan was the captain. And the owner of the team came to me and he said, ‘I want you to be captain.’ And I said, ‘No, Landon Donovan is the captain.
"And then a week went by and they came to me again and said, ‘They spoke to Landon, Landon's completely fine with it.’ I then asked Landon, and he said, ‘Yeah, of course, no problem.’ And they gave me the captain's armband. It's my one regret. I should never have taken it off of Landon."
This may not be the only captaincy decision that Beckham regrets, as there were many questions as to whether he should have resigned as England captain following the 2006 World Cup. Now, though, as the owner of Inter Miami, Beckham will be focused on creating a team that can win MLS Cup.
As for Donovan, he now hosts the UnfilteredSoccer podcast alongside his former USMNT teammate Tim Howard. It will be intriguing to hear his side of the story if they are going to talk about Beckham's comments on their next episode.
LAFC can qualify for the Club World Cup
Club León has lost their Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal against being reinstated to the FIFA Club World Cup. They had been excluded from the tournament due to having the same owners as Pachuca. Now there is a space for another CONCACAF team to qualify for the competition.
FIFA announced that they have "decided that the team to be admitted as a replacement for Club León will be determined through a play-off match between Los Angeles FC and Club América."
The game is yet to be scheduled, but it is a huge opportunity for LAFC to compete with the best teams from around the world. Should they beat América, they will join Group D, which already includes Chelsea, Flamengo and Espérance Sportive de Tunis.
Richy Ledezma could be set to join Chivas
Richy Ledezma came through Real Salt Lake's youth academy and represented their affiliate side, the Real Monarch's in the USL Championship. He then moved on to PSV Eindhoven but did have a loan spell in MLS with New York City FC in 2023.
Ledezma has featured regularly for PSV this season, but his contract expires at the end of the campaign. The right-back could be set for a return to North America. GIVEMESPORT has reported that "Ledezma is in advanced talks with Chivas, but no deal has been signed yet...
"PSV have an offer on the table for a possible extension, while other clubs are hopeful too, but Chivas leads the way, sources add. Ledezma is out of contract this summer and can sign elsewhere for free. PSV rejected a January transfer offer from Club America for Ledezma."
The player has had a good season for PSV, where he has played 23 times in the Eredivisie and made 11 appearances in the Champions League. Therefore, it would be a shame for him to leave European soccer for Liga MX at just 24 years old.
Chivas are a massive club, but the team from Guadalajara finished 11th in the Clausura this year. They are also without a manager following the sacking of Gerardo Espinoza. Ledezma, despite having played for the USMNT, does have Mexican heritage, which would make the move fitting for him.