CARSON (CNS) – Midfielder David Beckham said today the Dec. 1 MLS Cup 2012 will be his final competitive game with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

“I’ve had an incredibly special time playing for the LA Galaxy,” the 37-year-old Beckham said.

“However, I wanted to experience one last challenge before the end of my playing career. I don’t see this as the end of my relationship with the league as my ambition is to be part of the ownership structure in the future.”

When the British soccer star signed with the Galaxy in 2007, he said he would be facing one of the biggest challenges of his career, trying to boost the popularity of the sport in a nation where it had long been met with a combination of apathy and derision.

“In my time here, I have seen the popularity of the game grow every year,” Beckham said. “I’ve been fortunate to win trophies, but more important to me has been the fantastic reception I’ve had from fans in LA and across the States.

“Soccer’s potential has no limits in this wonderful country and I want to always be part of growing it.”

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber said “there is no doubt that MLS is far more popular and important here and abroad than it was when he arrived.”

“David has achieved great things on and off the field during his time with the Galaxy and he will always be an important part of our history,” Garber said. “We look forward to his continued involvement with the LA Galaxy and the league.”

Tim Leiweke, president of CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy, said “seldom does an athlete redefine a sport and David not only took or franchise to another level, but he took our sport to another level.”

The Galaxy qualified for Major League Soccer’s championship game by completing a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Sounders FC Sunday in a two-game, total goals Western Conference final.

The Galaxy will play host to the Houston Dynamo at The Home Depot Center in MLS Cup 2012, in a rematch of MLS Cup 2011, won by the Galaxy, 1-0, with Beckham and Robbie Keane assisting on Landon Donovan’s 72nd-minute goal.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading …