SOURCE: GOAL
The former Liverpool boss has hailed the passing skill and calming influence of the ex-Manchester United ‘icon’, whilst a media furore regarding his future continues to rage
Gerard Houllier has lauded LA Galaxy star David Beckham amidst mounting speculation surrounding his future, claiming he “never saw better than him” in his position.
The former England captain has rarely been off the back pages recently, with his name being linked with a host of European giants as he nears the end of the his contract with MLS side.
Recently, Paris Saint-Germain have leapt to the front of the queue for his signature, with the club now bankrolled by a Qatari group who would have little trouble in meeting the former Real Madrid star’s wage demands.
Former France boss Houllier has now added weight to the speculation linking the 36-year-old to a move to the French capital, claiming that Beckham is the best player of his type he has seen.
Houllier told France Football: “He is a decisive player and very strong mentally.
“In the important matches, he always was there in the last or the penultimate pass, on the free kicks or the corners.
"In the final of the Champions League in 1999 or in the match against Greece in 2001, but there were many others of it.
“He is somebody who has an effectiveness and an exceptional trajectory on all that is centre, inversions of play and diagonals.
"In the accuracy, in the precision, the timing also, he is diabolic and I never saw better than him technically in this field.”
Beckham became a global superstar both on and off the pitch from an early stage in his career and is now one of the most recognisable figures around the world.
Houllier has praised the ex-AC Milan loanee for his handling of such stardom, claiming that his inherent good nature and calming influence were fundamental to Fabio Capello’s decision to take him to the World Cup in 2010, even though he was unable to play.
“He became a star, an icon with sometimes all the constraints which go with, but we would forget of it almost that he is an adorable guy, attaching and deeply nice,” Houllier continued.
“[He is] somebody who can put the young people at ease in a group and who thinks always collective. If Capello had thought of taking him to the World Cup it is that because he has a true role and a real influence.”
Although Beckham himself has yet to make a firm decision on his future, there has been frenzied reporting in the French media over a proposed switch to Ligue 1’s capital club.
