If you wanted to find David Beckham on Monday, then the fashionable Via Poerio Carlo in Milan was the place to look.
There, in the altogether appropriate setting of Dolce and Gabbana's oh-so-very-ritzy Gold restaurant, Beckham dined with several other international soccer celebrities while mulling his latest coup.
The England international star apparently has settled the contractual tug-of-war between the Galaxy, which owns him, and AC Milan, which wants him, by grabbing both ends of the rope.
It will cost him a little bit, but he has gotten his way.
In an unusual agreement that will be finalized this week -- possibly today -- Beckham will remain with the Serie A club until the end of the Italian season May 31 and then rejoin the Galaxy in mid-July, staying for the rest of the Major League Soccer season.
After that, Beckham will exercise the buyout clause in his five-year, $32.5-million contract with MLS and bid the Galaxy and the league adieu before rejoining AC Milan.
In effect, Beckham has cast his lot with the Italian club and is being "loaned" back to Los Angeles for four months.
Complicated? Sure, but for Beckham it is the best of both worlds.
First, he can continue playing at a high level with AC Milan as it seeks to finish in the top three in Serie A and thereby qualify for next season's lucrative European Champions League. The team is currently in third place behind Inter Milan and Juventus.
Second, staying with Milan for another dozen league matches will significantly help Beckham's chances of remaining on the England national team as it tries to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Playing in a fourth World Cup has long been a priority for Beckham, who played for England in the 1998 cup and then helped England reach the quarterfinals at Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006.
England Coach Fabio Capello has said Beckham, who will turn 34 in May, needs to play regularly and at a high level to be considered for the team.
England has six World Cup qualifying games and three friendly matches on its schedule for the rest of 2009.
Third, by returning to Los Angeles, even if it is for less than half a season, Beckham will fulfill his promise of coming back to the Galaxy, something he said he would do when he engineered a short-term loan to AC Milan in December.
Just what the reaction of Galaxy fans will be remains an interesting point of conjecture.
