What is too much?

I am a parent of a highly enthusiastic 11 year old soccer player. Jed (my boy) has a heart-and-soul passion to play major league soccer when he is older. He wants to be a David Beckham or Landon Donovan so badly he can taste it-just like 15 million other boys in the US, which brings me to my point.
Jed is aggressive, talented, and experienced. Is he MLS good ? I am not so sure. Maybe, maybe not. As a parent, I want him to have a plan B, but I also want him to be able to take his "shot" and at least have a chance to realize his dream on the off chance that he really is that good.
This brings me to the topic of club soccer. I have heard that playing club is the single and only gateway to playing big league soccer and that there simply is no other path-period. I have also heard that playing in high school and really getting noticed is a viable alternate path. Which statement is correct ? This makes all the difference in the world to me as I have heard a lot of bad things about club soccer, most egregiously the very high likelihood of paying $3000 plus per year for your child to be a bench-warmer.
Right now, I simply will not do this-$3000 per year for an outside chance of actually playing a game is a total non-starter with me no matter what anyone else says or thinks. I have told my son that I have heard that if the coach does not specifically invite you to join his club team, then you are not really good enough to play in his eyes. The only reason you will get on the team in that situation is if the team wants to use you for your money. My rationale here is that I will not be stopping him from taking his 'shot' in the sense that I will let him try out the day he gets that call-but not until.
I have two questions: Is this a reasonable approach to club soccer ? (question #1) If he does not play club, is he finished as far as making it to the MLS is concnerned or is really doing well in high school without being on a club team a viable path ? (question #2) How does this work in the real world ?
Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks