GLASGOW (AFP) — Sir Alex Ferguson has warned David Beckham that his bid to turn the United States on to football is doomed to failure.
Beckham has vowed to take Major League Soccer "to the next level" after agreeing to see out his career with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
But his former boss at Manchester United is sceptical about the scale of the impact Beckham can have.
"In the late 70s I went to America with Aberdeen and there were guys like (Teofilo) Cubillas and (Peter) Shilton there," Ferguson told an audience at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre.
"Before that there was Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer. It is difficult with David going there - I don't know what kind of impact he can make. David Beckham himself can't change the whole country."
Ferguson believes the size of the United States and the exodus of the best young players towards Europe will make it hard for club football to gain a real foothold there.
"If you are in Boston and need to go to Los Angeles it's a six-hour flight," he argued. "Supporters don't travel so you are missing that rivalry between fans.
"So you have a problem. To make it substantial you would have to go regional but there's not enough teams to have four strong leagues."
Ferguson, whose relationship with Beckham soured before he sold him to Real Madrid in 2003, also offered fresh evidence of his belief that the player's marriage to his pop-star wife Victoria had changed his focus away from football.
When asked if Beckham was difficult to deal with at United, the 65-year-old said: "He was never a problem until he got married. He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad.
"Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing - from that moment his life was never going to be the same.
"He is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part. The big part is his persona."
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