Best-selling man

Posted by R. Berg on June 29, 2003

In Reply to: Re: A few problems posted by Steve Howarth on June 28, 2003

: : : Beckham, 28, signed a four-year contract with the Spanish team and he is expected to earn around 7 million dollars a year.

: : : Real Madrid is the only club that can match United's appeal. And Beckham, one of the best-selling men in the world, will provide plenty of chances for them to making money.
: : : (I think this sentence pattern should be "provide something for somebody to DO something", not "provide sth. for sb. to DOING sth.")

: : : Beckham lead a celebrity lifestyle that has not always been liked by his coach Alex Ferguson. Although Beckham joined United as a schoolboy and once called Ferguson "his second father", their relationship has been difficult in the last few years.

: : : After United was knocked out of the FA Cup in February, an angry Ferguson kicked a boot in the changing room. It cut Beckham above the eye.
: : : ("an" angry Ferguson? Ferguson's name is not mentioned for the first time here, so I think it should be "the". Or is it used to emphasis something?)

: : : thanks!

: : #1. The sentence is indeed wrongly put together. The writer should say "for them to make money" or "for them to be making money." Mistakes like this often happen when a writer or editor changes the wording and neglects to make the change completely.

: : #2. "An" or "the" is acceptable. Using "an" here is the writer's way of being cute.

: And you have to wonder what "one of the best-selling men in the world" means

That's another detail that gives me a (bad) impression of the writer's overly slick and bouncy style. It probably means he's so popular with fans that he "sells" tickets.