Alexi Lalas, the Galaxy's president and general manager who left the club in August, has said his successor Bruce Arena would 'have his work cut out' dealing with the Beckham factor because the England international is more than just a footballer.

Lalas, who sported a famous goaty beard during his days as an international with the United States, believes the priority for Arena, who is also the Galaxy coach, should be to find a leader on the field.

He said: 'I think Arena's first order of business is to find some leadership, to fill a void that exists.

'He needs to go out and find some guys that don't care about saying the truth, don't care about hurting people's feelings and aren't afraid that they're going to lose their job for doing so.

'I think that he needs to make one of those guys the Galaxy captain. You need to send out a message that nobody is bigger than the club, whether you're David Beckham or an 18-year-old coming into the club. Everybody has to understand that the team comes first.