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LOS ANGELES -- The decision was made over a glass of wine with his wife on New Year's Eve, and the contract, he says, was signed not long after. David Beckham's return to the Galaxy, it turns out, was never really in doubt.

Consider it a victory for Los Angeles more than anything else. The English superstar might love playing for the Galaxy, but he and his family are head-over-heels for the city.

That was the message Thursday afternoon at Staples Center, where Major League Soccer's biggest name was reintroduced after the Galaxy's announcement he had signed a two-year contract.

The details remain a little fuzzy -- Is it two years or one year with a one-year mutual option? Has he actually signed? Are the $15 million reports close to reality? -- but Beckham's desire to continue the work he has done for MLS, American soccer and L.A.'s team is clear as can be.

Not that he didn't enjoy watching the media scrum detail how his move to Paris Saint-Germain, which dangled a lucrative offer before him, was a certainty.

“It was fun watching it, to be honest. I must admit,” Beckham said after the news conference. “Everyone was just talking about it. Even when I made the decision, I was kind of like, 'Should we wait a few more days ...'

“I always said at the end of last season that there was a good possibility I was coming back. ... I'm happy. I'm very happy to be back. I'm happy to continue playing here. [My family are] all happy. We've been happy here the last five years. We thought: Why change something that works? The kids love living here, I love living here. Los Angeles has been amazing to us as a family. So we're going to continue to enjoy it.”

Beckham said he and his wife, Victoria, discussed their options over a glass of wine in their London home on Dec. 31, the day his first, five-year contract with the Galaxy expired, and “that was probably the time I made up my mind and decided that we want to continue our lives in Los Angeles.”

His passion for the Galaxy, for the kind of team they've evolved into since Bruce Arena took charge in August 2008, about a year after Beckham's arrival -- and the success that the team found last year, when it won a second straight Supporters' Shield and the franchise's third MLS Cup crown -- had plenty to do with it.

Winning the title, he said, was “the only thing I kept on coming back to” as he mulled a PSG offer reported to be worth $18.7 million over 18 months and several other options, including with two English Premier League clubs (widely reported as Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers, although Beckham wouldn't say so).

He said that winning the MLS Cup title, the club's primary goal, at the end of his contract suggested that “maybe it's in the stars that it's time to step away or step down or stop playing” and that that “all went into my head. I'm not going to lie. ...

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Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish on Thursday finally confirmed what everybody already knew, that he's trying to sign Galaxy forward Robbie Keane on a two-month loan deal.

McLeish is looking to bolster a Villa attack that has scored just 22 goals in 20 games, the sixth-worst total in the 20-team English Premier League.

“We're having a look at it and trying to pursue it, so that's the latest, although nothing is actually done and dusted as yet,” McLeish told reporters. “If we don't know by Monday, then it'll probably be not done. That's why I don't want to say too much, in case it doesn't happen, but we're certainly pursuing it, and at the moment both parties are keen.”

Keane, an Irish striker who signed with the Galaxy in August, is training with his former club Tottenham through Jan. 20. British wire service The Press Association reported that Villa would pay nearly $775,000 to the Galaxy.

WORTH NOTING: Nothing official on David Beckham's new contract with the Galaxy is expected for another week or so, but new Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti -- who was in charge at AC Milan during the English star's first Serie A loan stint -- says he's staying with L.A. “We had the possibility to have Beckham,” Ancelotti told reporters after PSG returned to Paris following a winter break in the Middle East. “But Beckham decided to stay in Los Angeles because his family requested him.” Reports have Ancelotti now looking to bring in forward Ivorian forward Didier Drogba. ... Reports in Sweden claim former Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter's next signing as Hammarby's head coach likely will be forward Billy Schuler, who turned down a Generation adidas contract from Major League Soccer after helping North Carolina to the NCAA title.

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There's nothing official, but David Beckham's return to the Galaxy appears certain after Paris Saint-Germain officials acknowledged Tuesday they had failed in their bid to reel in the English superstar.

In what might seem an about-face, if you've followed the coverage of the midfielder's deliberations in the French and British media, Beckham turned down a reported 18-month, $18.7 million offer from the French giant -- and it should not be at all shocking that he's done so.

This was always about his family, and the prospect of uprooting his wife and four children from the home they love was never going to be a simple decision. It weighed most heavily among Beckham's considerations, and when the Galaxy amplified its offer -- extending a rolling one-year contract, apparently an 11th-hour reach as it became clear their biggest star was ready to depart -- there was only so much more thinking to do.

Leonardo, who as PSG's sporting director was instrumental in the Qatari-owned club's pursuit of Beckham, was admitting defeat last week when he acknowledged that “he has his family [in L.A.] ... it’s always been a question of personal matters.”

Beckham and the Galaxy have said nothing through the process -- in great contrast to PSG -- and his reps have stepped up only to remind everybody that he has not made any decision and continues to mull options. That's how it stands. Other clubs also have expressed interest in his services, some publicly and some apparently not, and it is not certain Beckham has turned all of them down, too.

But he has told PSG no.

“David Beckham is not coming,” club president Nasser al-Khelaifi said Tuesday at the Qatar Open tennis tournament, where it had been hoped Beckham would appear to sign with PSG. “We feel a little disappointed. But both sides agreed it would be better that we not do the deal … maybe in the future. ...

“David Beckham is [with] Los Angeles. And he’s going to stay there.”

L.A., as long as it got its offer right, was going to be the frontrunner in this race, no matter that the Europeans believed there was no way Beckham would choose to remain in a substandard league when well-funded PSG was aiming to step up among the game's real giants.

What didn't they know? What had they forgotten?

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David Beckham's proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain is looking iffier and iffier, with the latest reports across the Atlantic claiming he's leaning toward re-signing with the Galaxy.

It's about family, as we always thought it would be, with sources “close to” Beckham telling British tabloid Daily Mail that he is reluctant to relocate his family, which is happily settled in Beverly Hills.

And now there are questions about Paris Saint-Germain's desire to sign the English superstar. French sports daily L'Equipe reports that new PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti would rather bring in Brazilian midfielder Kaká, from Real Madrid, as Leonardo, the club's sporting director, says he's willing to give Beckham more time to consider the offer.

“The question has never been professional but about family. It is a difficult choice to make the whole family move to Paris,” Leonardo said in remarks published by Sky Sports. “We will wait a little. It is a personal choice, and it is not that easy to him. We have some time, and he has some time, too.

"We never stated it has been done. There is no contract. We won't push him -- we respect him a lot. I know him and have an amazing admiration toward him both as a player and as a father. I can understand it is difficult to move. We will leave him in peace.”

Beckham is expected to make a decision after talks with Simon Fuller, whose XIX Entertainment serves as Beckham's agents. His five-year, $32.5 million contract with the Galaxy expired Dec. 31, but L.A. reportedly has offered a rolling one-year contract to replace it. PSG is dangling an 18-month, $18.7 million pact, according to media reports.

KEANE TO VILLA?: Robbie Keane was adamant following the Major League Soccer season that he was not interested in an offseason loan, but there appears to be interest in England to bring him back for a spell.

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Counting down the 11 biggest 2011 stories in Southern California soccer ...

Where will David Beckham play in 2012?

That's the question that mystified us most this year, and as the hours run out on his five-year contract with the Galaxy, we know nearly as much as we did 12 months ago.

He's either staying in L.A. or heading to Paris, it appears, with an answer due any moment. Beckham has said nothing beyond that he'll make a decision after consulting his family during the holidays, and he said that several weeks ago.

Beckham, 36, has made a massive impact on Major League Soccer, the sport in America and certainly the Galaxy since arriving in the summer of 2007, and the on-field payoff came this year: His masterful performance, while dealing with an ailing back nearly all season, was pivotal in L.A.'s MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield triumphs and its march, as a group-winner, to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

The Galaxy want him back and have offered a one-year deal (reportedly with a post-career position within club owner AEG). Beckham and his family love L.A., but the riches Paris Saint-Germain is offering might be too tempting.

PSG's Qatari ownership sees Beckham much as Major League Soccer and the Galaxy did, as a marketing tool (who still has game; a big plus) who commands huge and frenzied attention. He might be the world's biggest celebrity, and that means more to a club (and, more so, ownership) that has aspirations well beyond what occurs in France's Ligue 1 and UEFA's Champions League.

They've offered, according to French media reports, $18.7 million for 18 months, and two French newspapers reported last week he'd agreed. He'll sign the contract next week in Doha. Or is it Dubai? One report says this, another that . . .

Beckham's reps say this proposed arrangement is a sham, that no decision has been made, that their man continues to mull his options (which at one point included interest from England, Italy, Brazil and the Middle East), no doubt with input from his family. Even Leonardo, PSG's sporting director (and Beckham's former coach during an AC Milan loan stting), acknowledged this week that Beckham might not be coming, that he has a life in L.A.

Good news for Galaxy fans? Could be. The longer it takes, the better the prospect. There's no rush to sign with L.A. -- preseason is still three weeks or so away -- but PSG wants him in uniform next weekend.

And did we mention? He loves L.A.

French fans continue to prepare for David Beckham's arrival, politicians debate the appropriateness of his would-be salary and Paris Saint-Germain's Qatari owners express confidence the English star's name will be on a contract shortly.

Leonardo, the Parisian giant's sporting director -- “general manager,” in American sports terminology -- admits he's not so sure.

Two French newspapers reported last week that Beckham had agreed to an 18-month, $18.7 million deal with PSG, and Agence France Presse reported that he is expected to sign next week in a trip to Qatar, but the Galaxy midfielder's representatives have balked at such claims.

They did so again Friday.

“There is no agreement with PSG at this time,” 19 Entertainment said in a statement. “An offer does not make a contract, we continue to hold negotiations with a number of clubs. No decision has been made, and we do not expect one at the moment.”

Leonardo said he's not sure Beckham, who also is considering a sixth season with the Galaxy, is coming at all.

“He is in L.A., he has his family over there,” the Brazilian told media Friday as he introduced Carlo Ancelotti as PSG's new coach. “We have talked a lot and we are still talking, but I’m not sure it will be done.

“We have a very good rapport with David Beckham, but we never said it was a done deal. We have studied it and we are studying it. It’s always been a question of personal matters.”

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No word yet on David Beckham's plans for the new year -- he's still wavering between the Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain, it appears -- but should he decide the best destination is the French capital, he'll find not everybody there is pleased to see him.

Politicians on the left have bashed the numbers in his reported 18-month, $18.7 million contract offer -- about $240,000 a week -- and the opposition Socialist Party is proposing legislation that would make such deals illegal.

Beckham would be the best-paid athlete in France if he accepts the PSG deal. Newspapers last week reported he had agreed in principle with the Ligue 1 leader, and Agence France Presse reported that he might sign while attending a tennis tournament next week in Qatar, home to the club's owners. Beckham's representatives called it “premature” speculation and denied the midfielder, who is vacationing in London, had made a decision about his future.

British broadsheet The Telegraph, citing sources in the Beckham camp, reported Thursday that Beckham has scuttled offers from Brazil, Italy and the Middle East and is seriously considering another season in Los Angeles.

Some French politicians, perhaps preparing for next year's presidential election, began railing against the Beckham contract numbers last week.

“I’ve had enough of these enormous salaries,” French Socialist MP Jean-Marc Ayrault told Britain's Daily Express. “It’s not just with football players, but also businessmen who should have their salaries capped.”

Eva Joly, a judge who is running for president, called the numbers “shocking” and questioned the wisdom of paying a player of Beckham's age -- he'll be 37 in May -- so much money.

“It’s not a game, it’s business,” said the judge, who has followed an anti-corruption agenda. “At his age and with the state of his knees, he’s going to be selling T-shirts. The salary is shocking because of the economic crisis and an example of how huge sums of money are concentrated in the hands of very few people.”

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If reports that Ronaldinho could be coming to Major League Soccer are more than just speculation or posturing, then don't be too surprised if he ends up somewhere other than the Galaxy.

That's the latest from France, where some of the Brazilian superstar's representatives are based: that the “big offer” being prepared is not with L.A.

Ronaldinho, 31, has been linked to the Galaxy for some time, and there were reports in Europe and Brazil that he was bound for L.A. before signing last January with Rio de Janeiro-based Flamengo following a decade in Europe with Paris-Saint Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan.

Reports have resurfaced, claiming the attacker could be the replacement if David Beckham signs with Paris Saint-Germain, as French media claim he will do shortly after New Year's, but MLS-News, a French website that covers MLS and is an “official partner” of University Elite Athletes USA -- a French management agency working to move Ronaldinho to the U.S. league -- says that might not be so.

“Yes, we're trying to bring Ronnie to the league, but there may be a surprise in which club he could play for,” said Jerome Meary, a University Elite Athletes USA representative the website said was “handling the case jointly with MLS.”

“We are preparing a big offer, but it is not with Los Angeles.”

Meary told MLS-News that the Galaxy has right of refusal on Ronaldinho. The player's French adviser Michael Wiesenfeld, founder of the New York-based European Football Group agency (and a former marketing assistant at PSG), last week told the website that negotiations with the Galaxy had begun last summer and “are intensifying.”

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The Galaxy got one big postseason mission out of the way Friday, re-signing defender/midfielder Sean Franklin while collecting signatures from three others and exercising an option they previously, but not irrevocably, had declined.

Defender/midfielder Bryan Jordan also re-signed, and the Galaxy wrapped up deals with forward Pat Noonan, whose rights were acquired from Seattle in last week's second-stage re-entry draft, and goalkeeper Nick Noble, who has spent the past two seasons in Sweden.

Also back is forward Adam Cristman, who had pulled out of Major League Soccer's re-entry process after the option on his contract, worth only the league minimum of $42,000 last year (but with a salary boost anticipated), was initially declined.

Franklin (Palmdale/Highland HS and Cal State Northridge), 26, the 2008 MLS Rookie of the Year and an MLS All-Star Game starter last summer, is the big news. He's among the best right backs in MLS and is probably better as a right-sided midfielder, which is where he'll likely play if Landon Donovan is paired with Robbie Keane on L.A.'s forward line.

Jordan (Temple City/Temple City HS), 26, who has been with the Galaxy since 2008, is a backup, primarily as an outside back, who played in 18 first-team and eight MLS Reserve League games last season. Cristman, 26, a big, physical, hard-working forward, scored eight goals in 33 games, including Reserve League, after arriving in a trade last January.

Noonan, 31, was one of four players the Galaxy selected from other rosters during the second-stage draft in the re-entry process. He's scored 46 goals in 10 MLS seasons, but only four in the last five injury-filled campaigns. He played just 259 minutes across nine games with the Sounders last season.

Noble, 27, was Chicago's first-round draft pick in 2007, when Galaxy associate head coach Dave Sarachan was the Fire boss, but he never saw league action before his June 2009 release. He played briefly with the second-tier Austin Aztex before taking off to Sweden, where he's spent the past two seasons, making 59 first-team appearances, at second-division Ljungskile SK.

Noble is the third goalkeeper on the Galaxy roster, joining Josh Saunders and Brian Perk. The Galaxy also selected Jon Conway from Chicago in the second-stage re-entry draft, but Noble's signing might signal that the club, which won't carry more than three netminders, doesn't plan to bring in Conway.

BECKHAM IN DOHA?: Agence France-Presse reports that David Beckham will attend the Qatar ATP Open tennis tournament in Doha right after New Year's and could sign with Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain at that time.

The tournament runs Jan. 2-8 and the president of Qatar's tennis federation is Nasser Al-Kelaifi, who also is president of PSG. Al-Kelaifi heads Qatar Sports Investments, a quasi-governmental outfit that is the French club's primary shareholder.

ELSEWHERE: Other MLS news ...

• Midfielder Baggio Husidic, whom Colorado drafted from Chicago in the second-stage re-entry draft, is former Galaxy defender/assistant coach Gregg Berhalter's first signing with Hammarby in Sweden.
• New England signed midfielder Clyde Simms, which it acquired from D.C. United during the second-stage draft.

Still no word on David Beckham's future, and we're not expecting anything definitive until next week, but that hasn't stopped the reports in the French media, which assumes the Galaxy midfielder has (or will) accept Paris Saint-Germain's 18-month, $18.7 million offer.

If that happens, might Ronaldinho take his place?

MLS-News, a French website that covers MLS, claims the Galaxy has revived its interest in the Brazilian superstar, who apparently wants top leave Flamengo for MLS.

Ronaldinho has been linked to the Galaxy for some time, and there were ample reports in Europe and Brazil that he was bound for L.A. before signing last January with the Rio de Janeiro-based club following stints at Paris-Saint Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan.

He would make close to $10 million a season, his French-based agent, Michael Wiesenfeld, told the website. “We've been in negotiations since this summer,” he said. “And they are intensifying.”

The Galaxy does not comment on prospective players.

Ronaldinho, according to Brazilian reports, hasn't been paid in months by the sports management agency Traffic, which is responsible for about 68 percent of his $627,000-a-month Flamengo salary. He has scored 21 goals in 52 matches for the club, all competitions.

Beckham's contract with the Galaxy expires Dec. 31, and although there are options in England and elsewhere, he figures to sign with PSG or re-sign with L.A.

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Two French papers report in Wednesday's editions that David Beckham has reached an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain on a contract, but the Galaxy midfielders representatives say it's not true.

Daily Le Parisien claims Beckham has agreed to sign an 18-month deal worth $1.05 million per month with the Qatari-owned French giant. Sports daily L'Equipe also reported an agreement has been reached.

Beckham's representatives in England denied the reports in statements issued to several news organizations.

“No agreement has been reached with any club yet -- talks of a deal are premature,” 19 Entertainment, said in its statement to The Associated Press. “David has yet to make a final decision on his future.”

A “source close to Beckham” told Agence France Presse that the English superstar might be re-signing with the Galaxy rather than accepting the move to PSG. Beckham's contract with L.A. ends Dec. 31, and he hinted that he would make a decision during his Christmas holidays in Britain.

Beckham and his family flew from Los Angeles to London, arriving Monday morning, although French media claimed he was in Paris over the weekend.

Landon Donovan's big Christmas present this year goes to Everton, where he heads next week to begin a two-month loan.

Everton manager David Moyes says the Toffees are looking forward to the return of the Galaxy captain, who was so good in a 10-week spell with the English Premier League club two years ago.

And if Donovan wants to make the move a little more permanent, well ... here's what Moyes had to say when he appeared on the “ExtraTime Radio” podcast Monday at Major League Soccer's website.

“We really liked Landon last time,” said Moyes, who will have Donovan for nine, 10 or 11 games, depending on F.A. Cup success, from Jan. 4 through Feb. 24. “I think it would have cost us a lot of money to bring him in -- Landon was one of MLS's biggest stars and, obviously, a top Galaxy player. I think if Landon was ever going to come back to Europe, this would probably be the time to do it, because of his age, et cetera.

“Who knows? The plan is only to bring him here a couple months. I've not got any longer plans to do any more than that. But, you know, if Landon said to me, 'I'd like to do it,' and his form was good enough and he could manage it, I wouldn't be against it. But if I was going to do hat, the first people I would contact would be Bruce [Arena, the Galaxy's head coach and general manager] and the MLS.”

Everton sure could use some of what Donovan provides -- Moyes pinpoints skill, speed, attitude and experience -- after a 5-8-2 start, good for 14th place, in the EPL this season. The Toffees have scored just 16 goals in 15 league games (only two rivals have fewer) and have just one in their past three outings, and the boss says he “could consider playing him up front” as well as on the right, where he was stationed in the first Everton loan, or on the left.

Donovan was a big hit during the 10-week stint in 2010, scoring twice in 13 games, winning the club's player-of-the-month award his first month there, and engineering a shift in perceptions -- following earlier Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich failures -- about his toughness and ability to play at the highest club level.

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Those hoping David Beckham would be introduced Sunday as Paris Saint-Germain's newest superstar left the Parc des Princes disappointed.

The Galaxy midfielder wasn't seen at PSG's 0-0 draw against Lille, the British media widely reported, despite reports Saturday by France Football magazine that Beckham and his family were in Paris, ostensibly to sign with the Qatari-owned French giant.

The magazine, one of the sport's most prestigious, reported that Beckham might be introduced before the game as the club's latest and greatest conquest, and the stadium was filled and buzzing with expectation.

Beckham's five-year contract with the Galaxy expires Dec. 31, and he is considering returning to the MLS Cup champions, signing an 18-month deal reportedly worth $18.7 million with PSG, returning home to England (where several clubs are interested, with Tottenham the likeliest destination) or signing elsewhere.

It is assumed he is weighing the offers from PSG and the Galaxy.

David Beckham hasn't signed with Paris Saint-Germain and, disputing French claims, isn't in the French capital, one of his spokesmen told Sky Sports on Saturday.

France Football magazine claimed the Galaxy midfielder and his family landed at Le Bourget airport north of Paris, sparking anticipation he's about to sign with PSG, the French giant that's looking to take a huge step forward with Qatari cash.

"No deal has been done with any football club yet,” a spokesman told Sky Sports' website, “and David is not in Paris."

PSG has reportedly offered Beckham an 18-month contract worth about $18.7 million, and the English superstar has hinted he'll decide between the Galaxy and PSG -- or, less likely, to head somewhere else -- after Christmas.

His contract with the Galaxy expires at the end of December. The transfer window in France opens on New Year's day.

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Are David and Victoria Beckham headed to Paris this weekend?

That's the claim in French daily Le Parisien, which says the former Posh Spice, who has built an impressive fashion résumé in Los Angeles, “should take the opportunity to explore the addresses where she could establish the offices of his brand of haute couture.”

What Beckham might be doing is left unsaid, although meeting with Paris Saint-Germain officials, who hope to bring him in during next month's transfer window, is the implication.

The Beckhams have returned to England for the holidays.

Beckham, the newspaper says, is expected to decide whether to stay with the Galaxy, go to PSG or sign elsewhere -- with Tottenham the likeliest “other” option -- shortly after Christmas. That's the timeline we're looking at on this side of the Atlantic, too.

Reports in the European press seem to assume Beckham is returning to Europe -- his departure from the Galaxy is treated as a done deal -- but Beckham has said nothing of the sort while confirming he really might return for a sixth Major League Soccer season in 2012.

Le Parisien's evidence that Beckham is leaving L.A.: He's already cleaned out his Galaxy locker. That every player has, because it's the offseason, goes unmentioned.

DYNAMO DIVORCE: AEG President Tim Leiweke says the Galaxy's owners will soon offload its half-share of MLS Cup runner-up Houston Dynamo, with prodding from MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

He's looking for local ownership -- half the club is owned by former boxing champion Oscar de la Hoya and businessman Gabriel Brener, both from Los Angeles -- and says AEG has “already been approached by two or three people.”

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