Madrid: David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the Spanish season and sign a five-year deal for US side Los Angeles Galaxy worth $1 million a week, the biggest in world sport.
"After discussing several options with my family and my advisors to either stay here in Madrid or join other major British and European teams I have decided to join LA Galaxy and play in the Major League Soccer (MLS) from August this year," Beckham told reporters.
The 31-year-old former England captain, married to former Spice Girl pop star Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams, will earn a total $250 million over the five years financed heavily by endorsements and including bonuses based on performance and the future success of the MLS.
"I would like to thank supporters and the people of Madrid who have made my family and I so welcome in my time here making this an extremely difficult decision to make," Beckham added.
"I have enjoyed my time here enormously and I am extremely grateful to the club for giving me an opportunity to play for such a great team and their amazing fans."
Beckham, who joined the Spanish giants from Manchester United in June 2003, is still one of the most recognisable and marketable sports figures in the world despite being dropped by England following last year's World Cup quarter-final exit and has spent much of the Spanish season on the bench.
He is certainly the biggest name to move to the UA since soccer greats Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff played in the now-defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 1970s and early 80s gives a major shot in the arm to the Major League Soccer (MLS), formed 10 years ago.
In a televised interview issued by LA Galaxy, Beckham added: "Another challenge has come up and it is the right time for us to do it. "I didn't want to go out there at 34 years old and for people to turn around and say he's only going there to get the money. It's not what I'm going out there to do.
"I'm going to hopefully build a club and a team that has a lot of potential. I think that is what excites me. "Regrets? No. I have never had any regrets throughout my life and career and I never want to.
"To play with the players I have played with, to play with (Zinedine) Zidane was the biggest honour I have had in my career, to play with the likes of Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos you know, for me, there is no regrets there."
Real Madrid confirmed that Beckham would not renew his contract with the club on their Web site (www.realmadrid.com).
Beckham and his pop star wife, former Spice Girl Victoria, should fit in just fine in LA. Beckham opened a soccer academy in Carson, California, last year, and Victoria was photographed house-hunting in the area.
A celebrity who draws paparazzi like a movie star, Beckham and his wife regularly find their way onto tabloid and magazine covers. With trendy clothes, rotating hair colors and styles and a glamorous wife, he's the epitome of the modern mix of celebrity and athlete. He's even had a movie named after him: «Bend it like Beckham.»
"David Beckham coming to MLS might be viewed by some as one of the most important moments for soccer in this country and perhaps the history of professional sport," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.
"David transcends the sport and is a cultural icon. David is clearly one of the most recognisable athletes in the world. People are going to feel really good about David Beckham spending the rest of his career in the US."
The news ends months of speculation about the future of the midfielder whose contract with Real expires at the end of the season.
