The Beckham Experiment

The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America is a non-fiction work by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl. The book chronicles David Beckham's move to Major League Soccer and his impact on American soccer.

Wahl, a veteran soccer writer for Sports Illustrated, was asked to cover David Beckham's move from Real Madrid to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. He was granted one-on-one access to Beckham and his handlers. The original concept for the book was to follow Beckham and the Galaxy, but due to his injuries the book was halted. Initially, Wahl approached Beckham's management about a potential book deal. However, Beckham's management gave Wahl the indication he would have to pay to write a book about the English midfielder. Wahl refused to pay for interviews and used his resources at the LA Galaxy to obtain interview time with Beckham. Over a two-year period, Wahl interviewed Beckham after games as well as Ruud Gullit (Galaxy head coach from November 2007 until August 2008), Landon Donovan (Galaxy player), and Alexi Lalas (Galaxy general manager at the time).

In January 2007, 31-year-old Beckham, one of the world's most famous soccer players, at the time playing with Real Madrid, shocked the sports world by signing a five-year contract with MLS team LA Galaxy, effective from the end of La Liga 2006-07 season, which was in progress when the announcement was made. In addition to playing football, under the advisement of talent manager Simon Fuller and his company 19 Entertainment, Beckham set out to conquer the U.S. celebrity scene. At this time, Grant Wahl was given unprecedented access to the English player, his inner circle, and team to promote his arrival to the league. To 19 Management's dismay, Wahl would not relinquish control of his articles or methods of procuring information. As a result, Wahl was able to give a behind-the-scenes account of Beckham's impact on LA Galaxy.