London ? Roll out the red carpet, Hollywood. The David Beckham show is coming to town.

The most recognized player on the planet – fashion icon, tabloid fixture, marketing giant and husband of a former Spice Girl – is taking his game and fame to Tinseltown, and he’s going to be earning an estimated $250 million for the five years of his contract.

The 31-year-old former England captain agreed to a deal Thursday to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, turning down a two-year contract extension from Real Madrid for a chance to lift soccer’s profile in the United States.

“There are so many great sports in America,” the former Manchester United star said. “There are so many kids that play baseball, American football, basketball. But soccer is huge all around the world apart from America, so that’s where I want to make a difference with the kids.”

Beckham, who has failed to win any major titles in 31â2 seasons in Madrid, said the time was right for a change.

“I’ve played now for two of the biggest clubs in the world and played at the highest level for 15 years, and now I think that I need another challenge,” Beckham said.

Beckham will become the biggest star to play soccer in the United States since Pele and Franz Beckenbauer played in the now-defunct North American Soccer League in the 1970s.

The Galaxy, citing industry experts, said the L.A. deal was worth more than $250 million in salary and commercial endorsements – about $1 million a week – and is “thought to be the biggest in sporting history.”

“David Beckham is a global sports icon who will transcend the sport of soccer in America,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said.

Beckham and his pop star wife, Victoria, should fit in just fine in LA. Beckham opened a soccer academy in Carson, Calif., last year, and Victoria was photographed house-hunting in the area.

A celebrity who draws paparazzi like a movie star, Beckham and his wife regularly find their way onto tabloid and magazine covers. With trendy clothes, rotating hair colors and styles and a glamorous wife, he’s the epitome of the modern mix of celebrity and athlete. He’s even had a movie named after him: “Bend it like Beckham.”