David Beckham says he is 'really grateful' a deal has been agreed to allow him to finish the season on loan at AC Milan.
Galaxy content with compromise between two clubs
David Beckham says he is 'really grateful' a deal has been agreed to allow him to finish the season on loan at AC Milan.
The England international joined Milan in January from Los Angeles Galaxy and was due to return to the MLS club on Monday.
However, a deal has finally been reached which will see the midfielder stay in Italy until the summer before heading back to the Galaxy for the remainder of the MLS campaign.
Beckham will then rejoin Milan in the autumn and the former Manchester United star is happy to have been allowed to continue playing in Serie A.
"I'm really grateful to the LA Galaxy and AC Milan for making this dream deal happen," said Beckham in a statement.
"It allows me to play for AC Milan and the LA Galaxy in the same year, and at the same time to continue my commitment to develop soccer in the United States, which is something I am passionate about.
"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 play-offs and win the MLS Cup."
Good solution
Galaxy's chief executive Tim Lieweke felt the delay in agreeing a deal was due to Milan's reluctance to meet their demands, but is happy with the compromise which has been reached.
"I'm sorry that it had to go on so long, for him and for us and particularly for our fans," Leiweke, who confirmed Milan will play the Galaxy in July, told the
Los Angeles Times.
"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'.
"That was where the complication was. Milan needed to understand we weren't just going to turn around and say, 'Oh, yeah, no problem, keep him for
a couple more months'.
"I think after some conversations between us and David and his folks, David began to understand 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. I'm very excited about the Milan game."
