Editing David Beckham (section)

====2009: Loan to AC Milan====
[[File:David Beckham at Al Saad (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Beckham playing for [[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]] in 2009]]
In 2008, Beckham's success in the England national team under [[Fabio Capello]] led to speculation that he might return to Europe to retain match fitness for the [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification|World Cup qualifying matches]] in 2009. On 30 October 2008, [[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]] announced that Beckham was to join them on [[loan (sports)|loan]] from 7 January 2009.<ref>{{cite news |title=Beckham to join Milan in January |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7697377.stm |work=BBC Sport |date=30 October 2008 |access-date=30 October 2008 |archive-date=23 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223074841/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7697377.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite this and other speculation, Beckham made it clear that the move in no way signalled his intent to leave MLS and announced his intent to return to the Galaxy in time for the start of the [[2009 Major League Soccer season|2009 season]] in March.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Beckham Milan Update |url=http://web.mlsnet.com/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w=mms%3A//a1503.v115042.c11504.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1503/11504/v0001/mlbmls.download.akamai.com/11504/2008/shows/t106/102408_lag_beckham_int2.wmv&w_id=27284&catCode=shows&type=v_free&_mp=1 |publisher=Major League Soccer |date=25 October 2008 |access-date=25 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028032340/http://web.mlsnet.com/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w=mms%3A%2F%2Fa1503.v115042.c11504.g.vm.akamaistream.net%2F7%2F1503%2F11504%2Fv0001%2Fmlbmls.download.akamai.com%2F11504%2F2008%2Fshows%2Ft106%2F102408_lag_beckham_int2.wmv&w_id=27284&catCode=shows&type=v_free&_mp=1 |archive-date=28 October 2008 }}</ref> Many at Milan both within and outside of the club expressed serious reservations about the transfer, with it considered by some players no more than a marketing move.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Beckham Conquered Milan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7887918.stm |work=BBC Sport |date=14 February 2009 |access-date=10 March 2009 |first=Jonathan |last=Stevenson |archive-date=30 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130170936/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7887918.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Beckham was unveiled at Milan's [[Milanello|training facility]] by the club's chief executive [[Adriano Galliani]] on 20 December 2008. The player chose the number 32 shirt previously worn by [[Christian Vieri]], as both the number 7 and 23 shirts were already used by [[Alexandre Pato]] and club vice captain [[Massimo Ambrosini]], respectively. The day after his unveiling, Beckham was brought to the [[San Siro]], where he was introduced to the home fans by walking out on the pitch before the league match versus [[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]] and proclaiming "Forza Milan" over the public address system.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/european/3899667/David-Beckham-makes-San-Siro-entrance-with-Forza-Milan.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/european/3899667/David-Beckham-makes-San-Siro-entrance-with-Forza-Milan.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=David Beckham officially unveiled in Milan |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=22 December 2008 |access-date=2 December 2012 |location=London |first=Richard |last=Bright}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Afterwards, he and wife Victoria watched from a luxury box as Milan won 5–1.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3WnTU88M40 |title=Intervista Sky Sport a Beckham all'intervallo di Milan-Udinese |publisher=Sky Sport 24 |date=21 December 2008 |access-date=2 December 2012 }}{{cbignore}} Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211130/x3WnTU88M40 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160515063318/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3WnTU88M40 Wayback Machine]</ref>

{{Quote box|width=28%|align=left|quote="On the pitch, Beckham sees everything before everyone else. His vision of play is better now than during his time in Manchester. He is slower but much stronger tactically and technically. He is very intelligent and works a lot."|source=—[[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]] coach [[Carlo Ancelotti]] on Beckham's condition at 33 years old.<ref name="Milan never intended to play David Beckham">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/players/david-beckham/4932358/Milan-never-intended-to-play-David-Beckham.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/players/david-beckham/4932358/Milan-never-intended-to-play-David-Beckham.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Milan never intended to play David Beckham|date=3 March 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=12 September 2014|last1=Agencies|first1=Emily Benammar and}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}}
Playing on the squad led by the 26-year-old superstar [[Kaká]], in addition to several other world-class players at or near the peak of their careers – such as 28-year-old [[Ronaldinho]] and 29-year-old [[Andrea Pirlo]] – as well as club veterans [[Paolo Maldini]], [[Clarence Seedorf]], Massimo Ambrosini, [[Giuseppe Favalli]], [[Gianluca Zambrotta]], [[Filippo Inzaghi]] and Andriy Shevchenko, Beckham made his competitive debut for the ''rossoneri'' in Serie A as a starter away at [[A.S. Roma|Roma]] on 11 January 2009, playing 89&nbsp;minutes of the 2–2 draw in front of 53,444 at the [[Stadio Olimpico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=251467&cc=5901&league=ITA.1 |title=AS Roma 2–2 AC Milan |website=ESPN Soccernet |date=11 January 2009 |access-date=29 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510203728/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=251467&cc=5901&league=ITA.1 |archive-date=10 May 2011 }}</ref> Playing his first competitive match in almost three months, Beckham gave a decent performance in right midfield alongside Pirlo. Though lacking match fitness and occasionally struggling to keep up in a high-tempo match, Beckham put in enough useful crosses and corners to justify the coach [[Carlo Ancelotti]]'s decision to play him from the start.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jan/12/david-beckham-serie-a-milan-roma |title=Beckham proves a big draw but fails to make major impression on debut for Milan |work=The Guardian |date=12 January 2009 |access-date=2 December 2012 |location=London |first=Tom |last=Kington |archive-date=24 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524073547/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jan/12/david-beckham-serie-a-milan-roma |url-status=live }}</ref> In Beckham's home debut against [[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]] a week later, he turned in another understated performance on the right side of midfield before advancing into a more active central role in the second half, thus effectively taking over Seedorf's role after the Dutchman was subbed off. Milan won 1–0 courtesy of Pato, but the 65,000+ San Siro crowd mostly focused on Kaká, imploring him to stay.<ref name="Fans beg Kaka to stay">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jan/18/milan-kaka-manchester-city-fiorentina-berlusconi-ancelotti |title=Fans beg Kaka to stay but Pato is the hero in Milan victory |work=The Guardian |date=18 January 2009 |access-date=2 December 2012 |location=London |first=Tom |last=Kington |archive-date=24 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524071451/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jan/18/milan-kaka-manchester-city-fiorentina-berlusconi-ancelotti |url-status=live }}</ref>

A noticeably older team, the Ancelotti-coached Milan was proving a good fit for the 33-year-old Englishman. He scored his first goal in Serie A for Milan in a 4–1 victory over [[Bologna F.C. 1909|Bologna]] on 25 January, his third appearance for the club.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=612673&&cc=5901 |title=Beckham scores first goal for AC Milan |website=ESPN Soccernet |date=25 January 2009 |access-date=8 March 2009 |archive-date=10 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510203701/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=612673&&cc=5901 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Though Beckham was expected to return to Los Angeles in March, after impressing at the Italian club, scoring two goals in his first four matches and assisting on several more, rumours began to swirl that Beckham would stay in Milan, with the Italian club reportedly offering to pay a multi-million-dollar fee. The rumours were confirmed on 4 February, when Beckham stated that he was seeking a permanent transfer to Milan, in a bid to sustain his England career through the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 World Cup]]. Milan, however, failed to match Galaxy's valuation of Beckham, in the {{USD|10–15&nbsp;million}} range.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=616973&cc=5901 |title=Galaxy reject AC Milan's opening gambit for Becks |website=ESPN Soccernet |date=7 February 2009 |access-date=8 March 2009 |archive-date=10 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510203704/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=616973&cc=5901 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Still, negotiations continued during a month of speculation.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=619909&cc=5901 |title=Beckham's future to be resolved on Friday? |website=ESPN Soccernet|date=17 February 2009 |access-date=8 March 2009 |archive-date=19 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219201518/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=619909&cc=5901 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 2 March, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reported that Beckham's loan had been extended through mid-July.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jones |first=Grahame L. |title=Beckham agrees to return to Galaxy in mid-July |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-beckham-milan-galaxy3-2009mar03,0,6510100.story |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2 March 2009 |access-date=8 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303222556/http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-beckham-milan-galaxy3-2009mar03%2C0%2C6510100.story |archive-date=3 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This was later confirmed by Beckham, revealing what was described as a unique "[[timeshare]]" deal, in which Beckham would play with LA from mid-July until the end of the 2009 MLS season.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article5871341.ece |title=David Beckham 'dream' deal |work=[[The Times]] |date=9 March 2009 |access-date=9 March 2009 |location=London |first=Nick |last=Szczepanik |archive-date=10 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510204231/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article5871341.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref>