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The Los Angeles Times,reporting that David Beckham has paid Major League Soccer to allow him to remain longer with AC Milan, though he will also rejoin the Los Angeles Galaxy in July.
Source says he will remain with AC Milan through the Serie A season, then come back to L.A. That could be the end of his MLS career.
According to the terms of the proposed agreement, Beckham would extend his current loan to AC Milan beyond its March 9 expiration and play there until the May 31 Italian season finale.
He would then have to wait until the MLS international transfer window opens on July 15 to rejoin the Galaxy, meaning he would miss the first 17 games of the 30-game 2009 MLS season. His first match for the Galaxy would be on July 18 at New York.
The complicated scenario does not end there.
Beckham would be under contract to the Galaxy until his buy-out clause takes effect at the end of this calendar year. From a practical standpoint, however, he would be free to leave once the Galaxy's regular season and possible playoff run ends, which would be at the end of November if the club reaches the MLS championship final.
At that point, Beckham would be free to rejoin AC Milan, although he probably would have to wait until January and the opening of the next international transfer period.
A source close to the negotiations said all parties -- the Galaxy, AC Milan, Galaxy owner AEG, MLS and Beckham himself -- were satisfied with the arrangement.
Financially, the agreement is said to be worth multimillion dollars to the Galaxy and to MLS, although no exact figures were known. The Galaxy had been seeking more than $10-million from Milan for an outright purchase of Beckham, but the new arrangement is believed to be worth far more than that.
Milan had said it would pay no more than $3 million for Beckham, knowing it could get him for free in November. It is now willing to pay far more than that, but again the exact figure was unknown.
For exercising the escape clause in his five-year, $32.5-million contract with MLS, Beckham, too, will have to pay hefty compensation.
The Galaxy would also benefit by not having Beckham's $6.5-million salary count against the MLS salary cap until he returns, leaving the club free to make other moves in the meantime. If Beckham is injured during the next four months while with AC Milan, the Galaxy, AEG and the league would be covered under an insurance policy.
From AC Milan's position, having Beckham available for its final 12 games of the season would help it immensely as it strives to finish in the top three in the league and thereby qualify for next season's European Champions League.
From Beckham's standpoint, staying with Milan will significantly help his chances of remaining on the England national team as it tries to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
England Coach Fabio Capello has said Beckham needs to be playing regularly and at a high level to be considered. England has six World Cup qualifying games and three friendly matches on its schedule in the rest of 2009.
The Galaxy would have to release him for three of those England qualifiers and for two of the friendly matches if Beckham is called up by the national team. They would not impact his Galaxy games, although he would have to make at least three transatlantic trips and play Galaxy games shortly after each one.
Immediately after the May 31 end of the Italian season, Beckham could be called up for England's World Cup qualifiers on the road against Kazakhstan on June 6 and at home against Andorra on June 10.
He could then train with the Galaxy before July 15, but could not be activated until that date.
Beckham's next match is on Wednesday night in Doha, Qatar, where AC Milan is playing a lucrative friendly against the Qatari club Al Sadd. His next league match in Serie A is on Sunday in Milan against Atalanta.
The close of business today is the deadline for MLS teams to reduce their rosters to the new league limit of 24 players. Beckham will still be included in the Galaxy's 24, since he will be returning, but MLS fans will not see him until July.
Source:LA Times
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