Is Beckham staying in Milan?

David Beckham is royalty in the soccer community and he needs to ‘keep up appearances.’ However, Beckham is contracted to LA Galaxy for 5 years (he has already done two) and is only on loan to AC Milan for two months to retain his fitness level and maintain his professional soccer experience while LA Galaxy have their off season. The ultimate reason for doing this, is to play for England in the World Cup in 2010. Will he stay in Milan? I don’t think so. He has uprooted his family from England to LA and Victoria, his wife, hasn’t taken the journey with the children to Europe for to be in Milan as it would disrupt the children’s schooling.

If you read his blog on www.davidbeckham.com, you can see that he is keen to get back to Los Angeles. On 10 December 2008, he writes that he is happy to be playing for Milan so he can be retain his full fitness for when he re-unites with his Galaxy team mates. On 24th December 2008, he mentions that his true heart lies in England, and he is honoured that the football community, the coaches and his management, still have a high regard for him to play for England. He also states that he re-iterates that he is looking forward to getting back in the Spring for the 2009 MLS season with LA Galaxy. His blog throughout January 2009, talks about the games he’s played in Milan and his fitness levels, but doesn’t mention anything about his family being with him, except for a training camp in Dubai before he started.

Wikipedia has also made it clear that Beckham has no intentions to stay with Milan and that it is his intention to be back in Los Angeles for the start of the 2009 MLS season.

As early as yesterday, reports are stating that Beckham will be returning to the LA Galaxy team. The AC Milan loan ends on March 8, 2009 and he will be back in Los Angeles on March 9, 2009 to continue in the MLS season. The confusion has been created by Beckham saying that he might want to stay with AC Milan as they are willing to offer him a $65 million transfer fee. “The loan agreement with AC Milan in which Beckham himself, his agent, AC Milan, LA Galaxy and the Major Soccer League are in agreement and each party understands the guidelines,” stated his LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena.

In the short term, Beckham will come back to LA Galaxy, but who knows in the future. His doctors agree that he has another 5 years left in his professional playing career. He is fit beyond anyone else his age and still has the passion for the sport. Even though the limelight is constantly on him, he is very much a team player. After seeing him play a friendly in New Zealand last month (December 2008), he is a fantastic icon for young soccer players and he is commendable for his conduct on the pitch, team work and his ability to entertain. Yes, LA doesn’t have the same passion for the sport as Europe, but the best thing Beckham can do, is finish his contract and end his football career on a high note, either back in the English Premier League or playing for England.