David Beckham has expanded on his reasons for leaving LA Galaxy without giving any clues to his next move as Paris Saint-Germain ruled out a bid for the former England midfielder. The PSG coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said the French club had no plans to open the cheque book for the 37-year-old.
“Beckham? We have not made an offer,” Ancelotti was quoted as saying by the sports daily L’Equipe on Wednesday. “We’re done [recruiting]. Good luck to him for the future.”
In an interview on the Galaxy’s YouTube channel, Beckham said: “What’s next? I haven’t decided yet. I’d been thinking about this for a few months and I came to the decision a couple of weeks ago. We were just about to head into the play-offs so I felt it wasn’t the right time to announce it.
“Now we’re through the play-offs and in the MLS Cup final which is going to be in our stadium and in front of our fans I felt it was the right time to do so.”
The 37-year-old had said that the MLS Cup against the Houston Dynamo on 1 December would be his swan song as he sought one last challenge in his playing career.
Beckham had an option on his contract, signed in January, for a seventh year with the Galaxy, but he explained: “I signed a two-year extension last year with an option in between and I just felt it was the right time to step down as a player here.
“I’ve had an amazing six years, an amazing successful six years. To have been able to play in three finals – two at the moment but three in 10 days – and to have won a championship last year was a dream come true.
“Hopefully to win a championship this year and go out with a real successful story for me that was one of the reasons why I wanted to make this.”
Beckham added: “I might be stopping here as a player but my commitment to the MLS and commitment to the Galaxy won’t change.
“I still want to grow the sport in this country, I still want to see the excitement that’s gone on in the last six years. I’ve been very proud to have been part of the growth of that.”
[adrotate group=”8″]
