Soccer:Former England captain David Beckham will donate his entire Paris St Germain salary to a children's charity after agreeing a five-month deal with the Ligue 1 club. He and the club have not identified the charity yet and could not reveal the amount of money to be donated, other than that it would be a "huge sum".
The 37-year-old was unveiled in the French capital this afternoon and said the presence of coach Carlo Ancelotti and sporting director Leonardo at the club persuaded him to join the wealthy French giants. Beckham knows both men from time he spent on loan at AC Milan.
Beckham revealed the deal had been agreed in the early hours.
“I think that this literally all happened at one o’clock this morning and was finalised when I got on the plane at 11 o’clock this morning," he said.
He could not specify when he would be ready to play for his new club but, having had a spell of training with Arsenal recently, he said: “My fitness won’t take long to get up to speed. A few weeks and I’ll be up to speed.”
Beckham explained his charitable gesture, saying: “I won’t receive any salary. My salary will go to a local children’s charity in Paris. It’s something exciting and something I’m not sure has been done before.”
He added: “It’s something the guys will decide, but it’s a very good figure. That’s one thing we’re very excited about, to be able to give a huge sum to a children’s charity in Paris, it’s very special.”
Beckham added that he chose France above other lucrative offers because of the club's ambition.
“I’m very lucky. I’m 37 years old and I got a lot of offers, more now thanI’ve probably had in my career. I’m very honoured by that,” he said. “I chose Paris because I can see what the club are trying to do. I can see who the club are trying to bring in.
“It’s an exciting city and now there’s a club that’s going to have a lot of success over the next 10, 20, 30 years. I’m very honoured I’ve been picked to be part of the future of PSG. Every club I’ve played for throughout the world I’ve been successful with.
“I was successful with Manchester United and always said I’d never want to play for another English club. I had a lot of history with Manchester United. It’s the team I support and the team I dreamt of playing for. I’m very honoured by the offers I had from other Premier League clubs but I didn’t want to play there unless it was for Manchester United.”
