Advertisement

David Beckham not thinking retirement

Share

At 37, Galaxy midfielder David Beckman is more than twice as old as two of his teenage teammates. And there are days, he says, when he feels even older.

“It’s always harder when you’re 37,” he said after training Friday. “You always have niggling injuries and you always find it harder to get over games.”

But despite that, Beckham isn’t thinking about retirement just yet.

“I said I wanted to continue playing as long as possible. So we’ll see what age I finish at,” he said. “I love the game so I want to continue playing it. I still obviously want to play at a high level. And if I feel that I can’t play at that level then I’ll try to stop.”

Advertisement

Beckman, Major League Soccer’s Comeback Player of the Year last year and a midseason all-star this season, promised Los Angeles an MLS Cup title when he signed his first Galaxy deal in 2007. He made good on that pledge last season but still re-signed with the team in January hoping, in part, to prove his fitness and earn a spot on the British Olympic team.

That didn’t happen. But the disappointment, he said, hasn’t lessened his desire to keep playing. His six goals in 20 games this season are the most he’s scored in an MLS season and he needs just one assist to reach double digits in that category for the third time.

“When you look after yourself and you take care of yourself, it’s not a problem. I feel fine. I feel great,” Beckham said. “I’ve always made sure that I looked after myself throughout my career. And I think it’s what I had done before I was 30 that set me up so I can play still at 37 at a good standard.

“I know a lot of players that have stopped and that miss it so much that they want to come back or do come back. So I want to make sure that I’m ready to stop when I do.”

ALSO:

Laura Robson pulls off another U.S. Open upset

Advertisement

Sharapova, Djokovic easy winners in second round

Chad Johnson tweets about not finding himself in Madden ’13

Advertisement