Beckham PSG move edges closer

Posted Saturday, October 15, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

David Beckham's vaunted move to big-spending Paris Saint-Germain is nearing completion, media reports claimed on Friday.

Beckham, 36, will be free to leave his current side Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of their season—the MLS final takes place on November 20—and has been strongly linked with a move to the French capital.

"Almost everything is now tied up: the contract, the salary, image rights and marketing," reported the daily Le Parisien.

"The negotiations are almost complete. The only thing missing is the player's signature."

PSG have spent more than 85 million euros ($118m) on transfers since being bought out by Qatar Sports Investments in the summer and currently sit top of France's Ligue 1 after nine games.

Beckham is also familiar with PSG sporting director Leonardo having played under the Brazilian during a loan spell with AC Milan last year.

"It's exciting, great things have happened in France. Leonardo has come in, and there is a lot of money," Beckham told the television station Canal Plus earlier this month, while Leonardo recently admitted to the BBC that signing Beckham would help PSG break into lucrative foreign markets, such as the Far East.

"He is more than a football player, he is a brand, a pop star," said the Brazilian.

Friday's claim by Le Parisien follows a report by Le Monde on Wednesday, which said that "the Paris office of a major Californian estate agent" was looking for an apartment for the Englishman and his family.