THE MULTIMILLION-POUND DEAL TO bring David Beckham to the United States was in the planning for as long as two years, according to the man who helped to piece it together. While some people around the England midfield player needed persuading of the wisdom of signing for Los Angeles Galaxy, Simon Fuller made it plain in an interview with The Times that he had always been a great believer in chasing the American dream.

Fuller, who has been here in Los Angeles to oversee Beckham’s arrival, is involved with managing David and Victoria’s careers through his 19 Entertainment company and he revealed his eagerness for the move to Major League Soccer. “We could have stayed at Real Madrid and done another three years, but David has already won everything in club football in Europe,” Fuller said. “So he wins another league title. So what? I am not downplaying that as an achievement, but people need to realise what has brought him out here.

“What they don’t understand is that people like David need a challenge. Most people are scared, they lack confidence. If you have a dream, you have to have the bottle to chase it, otherwise it will haunt you for the rest of your life. And David has the passion for football and the confidence in himself to do that.

“I never look at my feet. Some people do, but I look to the horizon. I see that America is the biggest sports-playing nation in the world and that soccer is the biggest sport in the world. Whether it takes five years, ten years, whether it happens in my time or not, you simply cannot deny that football is going to be big over here. All these American entrepreneurs buying clubs in England. Do you not think they also see opportunities here?

“This has been discussed and thought about for two years. The when, the how — we didn’t know that, but then the opportunity came up and it was the right time. Really, what is the worst that can happen for David’s career?”

Fuller is perhaps best known as the orchestrator of the Spice Girls and the creator of Pop Idol. He had only previously managed Steve McManaman, the former Liverpool and Real winger, in football, but the influence of 19 in the sport is also growing thanks to the Beckhams. His company runs the England players’ pool, setting up the charity to which all the squad donate their match fees.

“We are very respectful of what it means to be an England footballer,” Fuller said. “We wouldn’t do anything to undermine that, in the same way that David’s football is the most important thing out here. Of course he’ll have offers to do all sorts of things, but playing football is the clear priority.”

The Beckhams have denied that they will get into films, although they have enlisted the help of a significant Hollywood figure. Paul Bloch is the PR man for movie stars including Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis and John Travolta. “Paul’s a good guy, he knows the city,” Fuller said. “And we just want to surround ourselves with the best people.”

Some spin has been applied to Beckham’s impact. It was claimed by AEG, the owner of the Galaxy, that 250,000 of the new club shirts had been sold within hours of them going on sale. It turned out that 250,000 had been distributed by adidas, which is rather different.

But when it comes to public relations, the Beckham camp claims that it will be going out of its way to satisfy the huge demands of the media. While the usual postmatch access to the locker-room may have to be curtailed, to avoid a crush, Beckham will make himself available before and after every match.

Beckham trained behind closed doors yesterday as he attempts to recover from strained ankle ligaments. Having built up the hype before his scheduled debut in a friendly against Chelsea on Saturday, the last thing his new employers need is for him to be absent through injury.

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