Beckham weighs his options, could return to Galaxy as owner
Superstar might consider playing in Australia or China or even return to his LA club as an owner
David Beckham plans to play soccer next year. The only questions now are where, when and for how long.
"I still feel that I have something left in me as a player," Beckham said, a day after announcing he was leaving the Galaxy. "I still feel like I have one more challenge in me as a player. Even at 37 years old. I still can play at a high level.
"Where that will be yet I haven't decided. I have some exciting opportunities on the table."
What's not on the table is a return to the Galaxy - at least not as a player. Beckham may very well come back as an owner, though. And given the partnership he has forged with Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, the Galaxy's parent company, expect that to happen in southern California, where Beckham's successful mission to transform US soccer began more than five years ago.
It was the Galaxy and Leiweke who made the bold move of recruiting Beckham to Major League Soccer in 2007 and he rewarded the team and the league by raising their international stature to levels neither could have dreamed of. But that chapter of the Beckham Experiment will end after the December 1 league championship at the Home Depot Centre, which he says will be his last competitive match in an MLS uniform.
After that he'll mull offers from locales reportedly including China, Russia, Australia, Brazil, the Middle East, France and even a possible return to England, a sentimental choice that would give the former captain of the English national team a chance to play the last game of his storied career at home.
"There are options and I'm very lucky at my age to have options," he said. "People have talked about my retirement. And I actually don't feel as if I'm ready to retire yet. So that's not one of my options."