Robbie Keane revealed David Beckham had helped his move to Major League Soccer as he finished his transfer from Tottenham to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Keane had been in deliberations with the MLS club over a move after it became clear he was surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane.
The Republic of Ireland captain confess earlier this week he thought his time at Tottenham was coming to an end, and the move to join Beckham's team in a 3.5million transfer was finally finished yesterday evening (Monday).Tottenham can announce that it has reached agreement with Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy for the enduring transport of Robbie Keane, a report on the Spurs website read.
Negotiations between the two parties had been held up by MLS rules, which state that any franchise must have only three high-earning squad members, known as chosen players. Keane will join Beckham, Juan Pablo Angel and Landon Donovan, all three of whom have played in the Premier League, at the Galaxy - although Angel is believed to be negotiating a release.
He exposed a chat with new team-mate Beckham was key to persuade him to move to the United States.I am delighted, honored and very excited to be joining the LA Galaxy, Keane told The Galaxy's website.I have always wanted to come and play in MLS so it's the perfect combination for me and a dream comes true.
My family and I have already been made to feel very welcome in telephone calls from (Galaxy owner) Tim Lei eke and (manager) Bruce Arena.Also when David Beckham came and trained at Spurs (in January) recently he couldn't speak highly enough about the Galaxy, their fans and the league in universal, so I can't wait to get over and get started.
Keane's departure brings to an end his second spell at White Hart Lane. The 31-year-old made 254 appearances for Spurs during his first stint between 2002 and 2008, throughout which time he scored 107 goals and rapidly became a fan favorite.
Keane played frequently under Harry Redknapp during his first season back but the arrival of Rafael Van der Vaart last summer abridged his first-team opportunity and he was ship out on loan to West Ham, where he failed to make a collision.