David Beckham Keeps Olympic Hopes Alive by Staying in Los Angeles

Paris Saint-Germain Football Club made the formal announcement on Tuesday that David Beckham will not join the French team due to family reasons, despite strong rumors that he had signed a contract with the team for £4 million ($5.17 million).

The main reason for which Beckham decided to stay with the Los Angeles Galaxy, though a new contract has not yet been formalized, was to not uproot his family from the United States.

Especially with young children in the family, a move to Paris would have proved more disruptive for the family than staying in Los Angeles where the children are familiar with the city and the language.

Another reason that the English soccer star has decided to stay in the United States may, quite ironically, have to do with his dream of representing Great Britain in London 2012.

The iteration of the British team in Olympic competition will be the first since the 1972 Munich Games and for Beckham, who will turn 37 in May, it is the only opportunity he will have to represent the national team in an Olympic tournament.

Those close to the negotiations between the British star and the Galaxy say that central to the new contract will be a clause that allows Beckham to leave for a month in the summer for the Games, even though it would be during the MLS season.

The tournament would run from July 25-Aug. 11, with added time for training with the Great Britain Olympic team. Beckham is hoping to be one of the reinforcements allowed for the U-23 team participating in the competition.

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