The “timeshare” agreement is finally signed off on as David Beckham’s AC Milan loan will continue to the end of the Serie A campaign, where he will then join back up with the LA Galaxy through the end of the 2009 MLS Season before heading back to Milan for the 2009 / 10 season.  One positive for LA Galaxy fans is the chance to see AC Milan up close as the deal includes a clause forcing a July 19th Friendly at the Home Depot Center.

Via DailyMail 

‘I’m grateful to both clubs for allowing this dream to come true,’ Beckham said in a statement posted on www.gazzetta.it.

‘It will enable me to play for Milan and the Galaxy in the same season, with the possibility of been able to keep up my commitments with Major League Soccer and the development of soccer in the United States, something which I’m very passionate about.’

Via LATimes

“I’m sorry that it had to go on so long, for him and for us and particularly for our fans,” Leiweke said on Saturday afternoon, indicating that AC Milan had perhaps underestimated Galaxy owner AEG’s resolve.

“Milan thought, ‘Hey, David wants to do this, so we don’t need to do anything,’ ” Leiweke said, without mentioning the low-ball $3-million offer AC Milan had made. “We had to get to a point where they understood that David doesn’t own this contract, the Galaxy does, and this isn’t going to be just about ‘Let’s make David happy.’

“That was where the complication was. Milan needed to understand we weren’t just going to turn around and say, ‘Oh, yeah, no problem, keep him for a couple more months.’ ”
“I think after some conversations between us and David and his folks, David began to understand that he didn’t want to leave the league either,” Leiweke said. “So this is a good solution. It allows him to finish the season with Milan. We will see him in July. I’m very excited about the Milan game.”

And Landon?

“Landon’s the man,” Leiweke said. “We clearly believe that long-term this team is built around Landon Donovan. He’s the best American player by far. This is obviously a crucial couple of years for him and for us, with the World Cup [in South Africa in 2010] and with the Galaxy trying to get back to where we used to be.

“So there is no question. And David agrees with that, by the way. David believes this team should be Landon’s team.”
Just a quick question… What happened to the deadline date the was initially imposed?