Beckham still keeping his options open

DAVID BECKHAM will wait a few more weeks before announcing his next club after confirming he has had offers from France, Italy and the Premier League following his MLS Cup victory with LA Galaxy at the weekend.

The former England captain, now 36, is also considering staying with the Galaxy — but has ruled out retiring from the game for good.

“My coach Bruce Arena says I have three options: continue here with him, leave LA or retire,” Beckham said.

“I can rule out the last option. I have many tempting offers, but I am an LA Galaxy player and I will wait to make my decision until after the tours in Asia and Australia. Then I will consult my family to make a decision. It’s not ruled out that I might stay in Los Angeles. Living is Hollywood is like being in a film. We have spent five beautiful years here and anyway we’ll keep our house because we spend a great part of our time here. I have always taken my decisions on the basis of where I wanted to play, but now I have four kids and I have come to the point of my career in which the priority is family.”

Despite that priority, he has ruled out a return to England, where Tottenham Hotspur and QPR had been linked with him, as he said he could not play for any other club apart from Manchester United. He went on to tip his former side to beat rivals City to the title this season.

“I don’t believe that I will play in England,” he continued. “I have repeated it many times: it would be hard to wear a shirt different to that of Manchester United because I am still their super fan. As for the title race, I am forced to tip United because I refuse to say Man City. But I have great regard for (coach Roberto) Mancini. I liked him a lot as a player and, even if it pains me to admit it for obvious reasons, his team play really good football. I’ve noted the huge changes with respect to last season: this year they have added other players of great talent.”

Beckham, speaking to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, still harbours the dream of representing Great Britain at next summer’s Olympics, and did not rule out being part of Fabio Capello’s plans at Euro 2012 as well.

“I care about the Olympics a lot, because they will play in the area of London where I grew up. It depends on how I will be physically, but I will do everything to be there. As for England, every time that I watch them I dream of wearing that shirt. This is one of the reasons why I have still not retired.”