Galaxy insist Beckham will be back

David Beckham has no interest in leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy for AC Milan and will return to Major League Soccer for the 2009 season in March, team owners insisted on Wednesday.

With Beckham, 33, proving successful since joining Milan on loan at the start of January, speculation has heightened that the England international will remain with the Italian club beyond the short-term spell initially agreed between the Serie A powerhouse and the Galaxy.

But Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of LA Galaxy owners Anschutz Entertainment Group, said there was no story to tell involving Beckham leaving. He said: "David is under contract to the Galaxy, and I had a good, straightforward conversation with him before he left and he loves it in LA," Leiweke told the Los Angeles Times.

He added: "He wants a better Galaxy team, we're going to have a better team and David has no interest in going.

"We have a contract, we have a handshake, his kids go to school here, end of story. There is no story. He's going to return to the Galaxy."

A Galaxy spokesman said there was no need for a further statement beyond Leiweke's comments in the LA Times, and those of head coach and general manager Bruce Arena, who spoke to reporters about the ongoing speculation following a pre-season training session on Monday.

"Somewhere between all this stuff is the truth," Arena said. "I'll say what we've said all along, we have two players (Beckham and Landon Donovan) out on loan agreements, and those end March 8. We've never said anything otherwise.

"I'm not sure it's appropriate if the biggest clubs in the world make comments without contacting us; having said that, we don't know if there's anything accurate at the other end, either.

"I'll leave it at that. But I will tell you this: we will honour our end of these loan agreements, and we'll do everything that's proper," Arena added.