MILAN, Italy (AP) - David Beckham initiated contact to arrange a loan deal to play for AC Milan, club vice president Adriano Galliani said Sunday.

"The Beckham deal started with him. It was the English player who had his lawyers tell us to call, after expressing an intention to play for Milan," Galliani told Italy's state RAI TV.

Galliani announced last week that Milan was close to signing the former England captain on a loan deal from the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The 33-year-old Beckham is keen to play in Europe in the MLS offseason to keep match-fit and available for England coach Fabio Capello.

"Beckham will very probably come our way at the beginning of January and stay with us for two or three months, then go back," Galliani said. "It's not assured that he'll come."

At Milan, Beckham would join a stellar midfield with Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini.

"He was a great right winger, but now he can play closer to the center of the field," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said after a 1-0 win over Atalanta.

the fact we didn't go after him makes me believe he won't be here after this season is over with

The connection between Beckham and Milan is close as a deal to sign him before he joined the MLS was 90% complete and he has a house in tuscany so Italy isn't that strange to him and the fact Milan is a adidas team and Beckham a adidas player sure does help in a PR capacity and after all Gallini and Don Silvio do seem to have a habit lately of giving Carlo players he doesn't really want

had we signed him two years ago it would have been so much better that short time (2-3 years) solutuion for pirlo sub whihc we needed a lot specially last season

I mean no offense to fans of the English NT when I say this, but I find the whole Beckham-2 month transfer talk to be embarrassing to Milan. Yes, it's probably all done for publicity sake (and for sale of jerseys) but it's still embarrassing to me - David Beckham was a good midfielder at Manchester United and a good one at Madrid, but I think he sold out when he went to MLS (where he's a media circus and things are all about him and his scary wife, nto about football or the LA Galaxy which, again, are the worst team in the league) and I'm not at all happy at the thought of him coming to Milan, even temporarily.

This is by no means a bad deal ...

Sure, there is a downside ... but that is the case for any deal .. he will no doubt bring the allure of the Beckham brand to be directly affiliated with Milan, and on another side Milan will gain even more experience within its ranks.

The Milan hierarchy have created a Milan brand ... which is global at the moment. Put Becks in the mix and you would directly be increasing your TV $$, Advert $$, and Merchandise $$ ... It would be like creating money out of nothing.


He would only be here for 4 months to get him in shape and form for the MLS and above all WC 2010 Qualifiers ... If anything, I believe he wants to get back into optimal form .. Which is where the team could benefit from his contribution.

Interesting how Beckham only sought out a big-name team (in Italy, no less) just for the menial task of keeping in game shape. And, of course, management won't ever say no to another opportunity to stuff the coffers.

He went to the Galaxy simply because of the L.A. lifestyle, a move that proved a megaton bomb for both parties involved. You're not alone, 10e, in thinking that it's purely about the publicity.

More 'experiance' as you put it R7 is something we hardly need in this team

But as you have said, we can't overlook the marketing aspect of it all. Fact is Milan this season have lost millions upon millions because of missing out on the CL. So Galliani and co had to come up with a sure fire way of recuperating all that money, especially after the ammounts spent in the summer on transfers. So they took the route of getting players that are sure things when it comes to the marketing aspect of football. Players like Ronaldinho and Beckham will increase shirt sales, ticket sales, not to mention all the sponserchip deals and the TV money.

I know some think it's a dishonour for the club, but money nowadays is the most important thing and if we can't make it one way then we'll go the other route. And it's not such a bad thing, imo he'll give us another alternative to Pirlo, he's the only player I can think of that comes close to Pirlo's passing range. Plus it's only for a couple of months, we won't be paying a single penny for him and we'll earn millions out of it.

I don't really see a problem with this deal, it's good for both parties involved, either if you look at it from the footballing aspect or the business aspect

We have ourselves to blame for that one.

i dont see how beckham being here for 6 months is going to make a sugnificant amount of money, it's not like that many people who are into football really care about him or are willing to jujmp on the band wagon. and then the people who only know of a 4 or 5 players are not exactly the type to generate a lot of income. we might make a few bucks here and there but it would be a tiny fraction compared to how much were losing because of no CL.

The Italian gossip press is reporting that Beckham has rented a flat in Milan - and that the family won't be coming with him (Posh + kids to stay in LA).

His flat is, so the story goes, in Fishdoll's favourite neighborhood in Milan. It's smack in the middle of the red light district.

Yep, but we're in the situation now so it has be rectified one way or another


In Europe yes the interest in Beckham isn't what it used to be, but there's a hole other market in Asia where Beckham is still considered a god. Tapping into that market like Man U have done, even if he's going to be with us only for a couple of months I think it's enough to ensure us getting a good ammount of money out of the deal

good enough to get fabregas hopefullly ...

(Fishdoll would rather spend the money on a centerback. Even that spanish guy who plays for the White Jersey Team).

Fishdoll should first make Tennie a 2009 "Sexy Goalkeepers" calendar.

They still did with Ronaldinho, they will do with Beckham. He was and I think still is the most iconic footballer on the planet (Not the best).

Asia love him, Europeans hate to say they do.

This move is all for the cash and whilst I certainly understand questioning his football skills nowadays, you can't question how much of a money-maker for a club he is.

By the way, great, great signature, Miz. Dar I say, pretty darn close to the best one I've ever seen!