David Beckham's proposed permanent transfer to AC Milan appears to be off after Los Angeles head coach Bruce Arena revealed the Italian club failed to produce an 'acceptable offer' before Friday night's deadline.
Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber had warned the Serie A giants, where Beckham is currently on a short-term loan, they had to agree a deal by Friday night if they wanted to sign the England midfielder permanently.
But Arena, coach and general manager of the Galaxy, issued a statement saying no transfer materialised and Beckham, 33, will return when the loan expires next month.
He said: "Today's deadline imposed by Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber regarding a resolution of David Beckham's potential transfer to AC Milan has passed and we did not receive an acceptable offer for the player.
Distraction
"As a result, David remains an LA Galaxy player and we look forward to having him back with the club starting 9th March"
Chief executive of Galaxy owners AEG, Tim Leiweke, added in the Los Angeles Times: "He will be back here on March 9, and we don't want to entertain any more conversations now.
"It is a distraction to (Galaxy coach) Bruce Arena, the team and the fans, and we move on. That's the last we're going to talk about this."
Asked what would happen should the Italian giants return with an improved often now the deadline had passed, Leiweke was clear.
"They'll come back (with another offer), sure they will. But we owe it to our fans (not to consider it)," he said.
Next week
"They've been reading all these stories, and we lose credibility by the day. That's not fair. We owe it to Bruce and we owe it to the rest of the team. We're a month away from our season."
However, Beckham and his advisors will consider their position next week, his spokesman said on Saturday.
"David is focused on the Milan derby this Sunday. We will be addressing this early next week," Beckham's spokesman, Simon Oliveira, told Reuters.
