AC MILAN have refuted claims that the club has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Galaxy to keep David Beckham for the remainder of the season.
The England midfielder's short-term loan spell comes to an end on Monday, and the Rossoneri have been attempting to hold on to the 33-year-old as they go for a top-four finish to secure Champions League football for the 2009-10 campaign.
"I have
read that everything is resolved but that is not the case," said AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani on the club's official website.
"The deal is not resolved. We are in fact working on the possibility that he remains on loan until 30 June, but no agreement has been reached."
Beckham has made nine Serie A starts for AC Milan and struck twice since his arrival to the San Siro in January.
"I'm happy to be here with Milan and I reiterate that I would like to stay," Beckham said in Doha, where Milan are to play the latest in a series of friendlies that also took them to Ibrox to face Rangers last month. "I've really been enjoying myself, I have extraordinary teammates, I'm playing for one of the strongest teams in the world and I'm coached by one of the best managers in the world."
His performances and work ethic have impressed club coach Carlo Ancelotti. "At the beginning he (Beckham] was set to train with us for two months and I didn't think about playing him," said Ancelotti. "Then, I saw how he trained and I had no choice.
"We tried to get him four years earlier and two years ago, but the negotiations faded away. I can say he is a great player, but not a formidable one, although he has won me over with his performances and his character."
Ancelotti believes the 33-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid star has improved with age and even said aspects of his game were better than former Fifa World Player of the Year Kaka.
"On the pitch, Beckham sees everything before everyone else," said Ancelotti. "His vision of play is better now than during his time in Manchester and in that respect, he has nothing to envy Kaka for.
"He is slower but much stronger tactically and technically. He is very intelligent and works a lot."
Ancelotti followed up his praise for Beckham with criticism of Ronaldinho.
The Brazil playmaker has failed to impress following his move from Barcelona with the Milan coach hinting he was not working hard enough on the training field.
"Players like him (Ronaldinho] base everything on talent," said Ancelotti. "I have coached many great players and the majority think they can make the difference just with talent. This is not true. In modern football if you don't have good physical condition and work in training it's difficult to shine in a game."
Meanwhile, Ancelotti's own position at the club is under threat after Milan delivered an ultimatum: if he wants to remain in charge, finish at least third in the Serie A and guarantee a return to the Champions League.
The announcement follows a week in which Milan lost 2-1 to Sampdoria in Serie A and were eliminated from the Uefa Cup by Werder Bremen.
Milan are currently third in Serie A with 48 points, 12 behind city rivals Inter and five behind second-placed Juventus. Three clubs – Fiorentina, Genoa and Roma, are within four points of Milan. "Carlo Ancelotti will stay if we finish third," chairman Galliani said on Gazzetta dello Sport's website.
The top three Serie A teams qualify directly to the Champions League, while the fourth-place finisher must play a qualifying round.
"We're having some trouble right now, it's true, but we have a lot of injuries and we're not 100 percent," said Ancelotti.
The full article contains 652 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
