ABSTRACT
By now the story can be written from its end. He is said to have cried when
England manager Steve McLaren did not call him up for the ‘Three Lions’ in
August 2006. Were there tears when he was recalled in May 2007? We do not
know. When he earned his 100th cap on 26 March 2008 against France, some
might have preferred the ‘99’ as a symbol of incompletion. His transfer from Real
Madrid via Hollywood to Los Angeles Galaxy in July 2007 was considered by
many to be consistent with his previous career, as was signing, on loan, with AC
Milan in the 2008/09 winter break; increasingly, the term ‘travelling circus’ began
to be used. First pictures from Milan showed his spouse Victoria on the VIP stand
of the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, others showed huge advertising signs for
underwear displayed on buildings. All this leads directly away from the football
pitch, and right to the heart of our subject.
