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PSG sporting director Leonardo says David Beckham will not join French club
Leonardo says Los Angeles Galaxy veteran does not want to move his family
Beckham had been expected to return to Europe ahead of the 2012 Olympics
The 36-year-old's contract with the Galaxy expired at the end of 2011
Soccer superstar David Beckham will not be leaving the U.S. to join Paris Saint-Germain, the French club announced on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old had been widely expected to sign for the Qatari-owned side during European football’s January transfer window, but PSG sporting director Leonardo said the former England captain would likely stay in Los Angeles.
“It’s over. It’s a shame,” Leonardo said from the team’s mid-season training camp in Doha, according to the website of French sports paper L’Equipe.
“But the welfare of his family in Los Angeles, the wish not to change everything in his life, weighed heavily.”
Beckham is now expected to negotiate a new contract with Los Angeles Galaxy, the Major League Soccer team he joined in 2007 and led to the MLS Cup title in November last year.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder’s previous five-year deal expired on December 31, and he was tipped to return to Europe in order to secure a place in the Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympics in his native London.
However, it now appears that Beckham would prefer not to uproot his wife Victoria and their four children.
The youngest, daughter Harper, is the only one to be born in the “City of Angels” after her arrival in July 2011.
Confirmation that Beckham would not join the French league leaders was not a surprise as Leonardo and new coach Carlo Ancelotti had both denied reports that a deal had been done in the past few days.
The PSG squad are in the Middle East preparing for Wednesday’s friendly match against one of Ancelotti’s former clubs, Italian champions AC Milan, in Dubai.