David Beckham blasted by Los Angeles Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan for 'lacking commitment'

David Beckham will walk straight into an angry backlash when he returns to Los Angeles Galaxy this month after being accused of lacking commitment by his most famous team-mate.

USA hero Landon Donovan, who lost the armband to Beckham when the former England captain arrived in California in 2007, has launched an astonishing attack on the most-capped outfield player in Three Lions history.

Striker Donovan's 20 goals last term for Galaxy made him the leading scorer in Major League Soccer - and he accepts Beckham played a major role in that haul.

But he has demanded that the former Manchester United and Real Madrid ace be left out of the team when he returns to duty in New York on July 16.

Landon Donovan (Pic:Getty)

And in a remarkable verbal assault, Donovan accused Becks of not caring at all about the club he joined in a fanfare of publicity - pointing to last term's loan deal at AC Milan as proof.

Donovan said: "All that we care about at a minimum is that he committed himself to us. As time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways - on the field, off the field.

"Does the fact that he earns that much money come into it? Yeah.

"If someone's paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you're suspended or not.

"Show up and train hard. Show up and play hard. Maybe he's not a leader, maybe he's not a captain. Fair enough.

"But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. That hasn't happened. And I don't think that's too much for us to expect. Especially when he's brought all this on us.

"I can't even say he's a good team-mate any more. He's not shown that. I can't think of another guy where I'd say he wasn't a good team-mate, he didn't give everything through all this, he didn't still care.

"But with Beckham, I'd say no, he wasn't committed. Let's say he does stay here three more years. I'm not going to spend the next three years of my life doing it this way.

"This is f****** miserable. I don't want to have soccer be this way. I've got to confront it somehow. If that's the way he's going to be, fine, then hold him accountable.

"Bench him. Just say, 'We're not going to play you, we don't think you're committed'."

Beckham's basic £4million annual package, which reached more than £30m after sponsorship deals were taken into account, dwarfed the deals for team-mates, many of whom earned barely £30,000 per year.

Donovan clearly has an axe to grind, accusing Beckham, 34, of not standing up for him - which he believes was his duty as skipper - when former coach Ruud Gullit launched a dressing-room tirade during a game in Kansas City last May.

And the 27-year-old, who has scored 41 goals in 115 games for the USA, including strikes against Italy and Brazil as his side came so close to Confederations Cup glory last month, warned that Beckham will not be welcome back unless he shows a completely new attitude.

Donovan, who himself spent the first part of 2009 on loan at Bayern Munich, added: "When David first came, I believed he was committed to what he was doing.

"But somewhere along the way - and in my mind it coincides with Ruud Gullit being let go as coach last season - he just flipped a switch and said 'Uh-uh, I'm not doing it any more'.

"My sense is that David thinks it's a joke."

The souring of this American dream is chronicled in a new book 'The Beckham Experiment' by Grant Wahl.

Get player videos and transfer news round-ups on the Football Spy blog .

FREE £25 BET WITH BETFAIR

Win top spec footy boots