Alexi Lalas has taken a swipe at LA Galaxy star David Beckham. Lalas, the Galaxy's former president and general manager who left the club in August, says new coach Bruce Arena will have his hands full next MLS season.

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.

"When you talk about David Beckham, it's about so much more than what he is on the field, for better or worse. That's fine. I was a little disappointed with the way that it all came down with him and his folks.

"I mean, hello, a courtesy telephone call, a little bit of respect to call the coach so that Arena knows what's going on, knows that you're being shopped around.

"But sometimes the tail wags the dog."