David Beckham yesterday said that his family would continue to stay in Los Angeles even as he stayed back in Italy thanks to a deal that has been agreed between AC Milan and Los Angeles Galaxy that enables him to remain with the Italian side until the end of the season.
David Beckham yesterday said that his family would continue to stay in Los Angeles even as he stayed back in Italy thanks to a deal that has been agreed between AC Milan and Los Angeles Galaxy that enables him to remain with the Italian side until the end of the season.
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AC Milan's David Beckham and Filippo Inzaghi celebrate the latter's strike against Atalanta in a Serie A match at the San Siro Stadium in Milan last night. Inzaghi scored a hat-trick as Milan won 3-0. pic/AP |
"My family is happy and settled and will remain in LA. The perfect result for 2009 would be for me to help Milan to reach the Champions League and for the LA Galaxy to make the playoffs and win the MLS Cup," said Beckham, whose current loan deal from the Major League Soccer side was due to end today. He however managed an arrangement between the two clubs to remain in Italy until the end of the season before returning to Galaxy to see out the rest of the MLS season.
Dream come true"I'm grateful to both clubs for making this dream come true," said Beckham.
"I will be able to play for Milan and Galaxy in the same season, hence keeping with my commitment to Major League Soccer in order to develop football in the USA, which is something I feel really passionate about."
Tim Leiweke, the chief executive of AEG, which owns the Galaxy, confirmed the deal in an interview with the Los Angeles Time, insisting Milan had underestimated Galaxy's resolve in holding on to their star asset.
"I'm sorry that it had to go on so long, for him and for us and particularly for our fans," he told the paper.
"Milan thought, 'Hey, David wants to do this, so we don't need to do anything. We had to get to a point where they understood that David doesn't own this contract, the Galaxy does, and this isn't going to be just about 'Let's make David happy.'
"Milan needed to understand we weren't going to turn around and say, 'Oh, yeah, no problem, keep him for a couple more months'."
Leiweke added: "After some conversations between us and David, he understood that he didn't want to leave the league either.
"So this is a good solution. It allows him to finish the season with Milan. We will see him in July."
