The 37-year-old former England captain joined PSG after turning down several other offers and pledging to effectively play for free. He was presented Thursday at the French club’s Parc des Princes stadium after passing his physical.

No financial details were given as to how much Beckham’s salary would be or the name of the charity. Beckham said the decision was taken early Thursday morning.

“It’s something I’m excited about and now it has finally happened,” Beckham said during the news conference Thursday. “I am very lucky because I got more offers than I have probably had in my career, at my age. I chose Paris because I can see what the club are trying to do. Now there is a club that is going to have a lot of success over the next 10, 15, 20 years. To be part of something with this growth is exciting to me.”

Of his five-month contract, Beckham said he wants to help the club “grow” regardless of the length of his stay.

“I don’t expect to come into this team and play in every single game. I don’t expect to start. I have to work for that,” he said. “It is a bonus they are in the Champions League. I’ve been lucky to win it in the past and I know how important it is for clubs.”

Beckham said he was not sure when he would make his debut with the club.

“I don’t’ know. This literally all happened at 1 a.m. this morning and it was only finalized at 11 a.m. this morning,” he said. “I’ve been training at Arsenal so it won’t take me long to get up to speed. I definitely won’t be ready next Friday but in a few weeks. No matter what my age, I still feel 21 most days.”

The Qatari-owned Ligue 1 club has been the highest-spending club in Europe in the past year. Beckham said he will donate a “huge sum” of his salary to a children’s charity in Paris.

On his Facebook page, Beckham posted a photo of himself with the comment: “On way to Paris, excited. I will update you all later.”

The 37-year-old former Manchester United star had been considering offers from clubs around the world after leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy in December to end a six-year stint in Major League Soccer.

PSG is in the Champions League knockout stage, which gives Beckham the prospect of winning a league title in a fourth country. The club faces Valencia on Feb. 12 and March 6.

Beckham joins a roster of international stars accumulated by PSG over the past two years, since the Qatari investment company bought a majority share in the club in May 2011.

The team includes Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who leads Ligue 1 with 19 goals), Brazil’s Thiago Silva and Lucas, and Argentina’s Ezequiel Lavezzi. Those four were bought last summer for a total of $140 million.

PSG currently leads French Ligue 1, in search of the club’s first league title in 19 years.

MLS Before & After Beckham
Numbers 2006 2012
Teams 12 19
Soccer stadiums 2 13
Avg salary $85,329 $179,166
Avg attendance 15,504 18,807<< >>MLS record
Source: ESPN Stats & Info

David Beckham skyrocketed to fame at Manchester United, where he debuted in 1992 at age 17. He won six Premier League titles, two FA Cup trophies and the 1999 Champions League as part of United’s famed treble-winning side.

In the summer of 2003, he transferred to Real Madrid for $41 million. After falling out of favor and failing to win a league title in his first three seasons, Beckham finished well, playing his way back into the starting lineup as Madrid won La Liga in 2007, clinching the title in Beckham’s final match.

In January of 2007, Beckham announced he was heading to Los Angeles. After signing a contract with a total value of $250 million, he and the Galaxy failed to make the playoffs his first two seasons. But they reached the MLS Cup in three of his last four years, winning titles by beating Houston in 2011 and 2012.

Forbes said Beckham earned $46 million from salary ($4 million with the LA Galaxy) and endorsements in 2012, ranking him 35th on the Forbes Celebrity 100 List as the world’s highest-earning soccer player.

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The France midfielder was dismissed in the first half of the defending champions’ 4-3 Barclays Premier League win at Carrow Road for an alleged headbutt at Sebastien Bassong.

Manager Roberto Mancini indicated after the game on Saturday that an appeal would be lodged but, after further thought, the club have now announced there will not be a challenge.

“The Football Association has confirmed that Samir Nasri will serve a three-match suspension, following his red card during the 4-3 win at Norwich on Saturday. Nasri will now miss the New Year’s Day visit from Stoke City, the FA Cup tie with Watford (January 5) and the trip to Arsenal on January 13,” the club said in a statement.

Nasri reacted angrily to a challenge from Bassong in a manner that was seen as violent conduct. Mancini maintains the dismissal was harsh but conceded, as he met the media early on Monday to preview the Stoke game, an appeal may not succeed.

Appealing would have allowed Nasri to face Stoke as, due to the holiday season, a hearing would not have been heard until Wednesday. But by doing so the club would run the risk of having the ban extended if the appeal was deemed frivolous.

With Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure and Abdul Razak now due to depart for African Nations Cup duty with Ivory Coast after the Stoke game — rather than after Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Watford as first thought — it was considered too much of a gamble.

“We don’t know what can happen if we appeal. Usually they reject an appeal. This could be a problem because after this game we lose three players — Yaya, Kolo, Razak and we don’t want to lose another,” Mancini said.

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Chelsea officials met the 27-year-old’s representatives on Sunday night and the deal on the table reportedly did not come close to meeting the point where he would consider leaving St James’ Park.

According to the Daily Mail, Ba earns £20,000 per week plus £20,000 in appearance fees and hoped to double that figure with his new contract, a prospect at which Chelsea balked.

However, while the Ba camp has indicated that the Senegal international does not now expect to be playing his football at Stamford Bridge next month, it is likely that the impasse represents only the initial skirmish in a battle which could run and run.

The Blues are among a series of clubs to have been linked with the former West Ham frontman, who scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season at Arsenal on Saturday, with the £7million release-clause ($11.3 million) in his contract due to become active once again on Jan. 1.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Ba would receive £2million ($3.2 million) himself from the buyout.

However, as yet, the Magpies insist they are yet to receive a bid that would trigger that clause.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is growing increasingly weary of the Ba saga, saying Monday he feels “sorry” for Ba because he feels he’s getting bad advice.

“In some respects, I feel a little bit sorry for Demba as well because I think people who are representing him are not actually representing him,” he said. “There are people out there who are saying this who are not actually involved or want to be involved, and that’s the sort of world we are in.

“The contract is what it is, we are all aware of that, and for me as the manager I need it resolved as quickly as possible. That’s the best situation for our fans and for the club.”

Newcastle have spent recent months attempting to negotiate a new contract with Ba which would remove the clause and that remains on the table.

However, Pardew insisted it would not do so indefinitely.

“The situation with that is that it’s getting close to the point where we say ‘no more’, but the offer is still there,” he said.

The deal Ba signed when he joined Newcastle during the summer of 2011 was intensely complicated as a result of the medical condition of his knee, and they have spent recent months attempting to renegotiate it.

However, the two sides have been unable to reach agreement and with the player’s network of representatives clearly active behind the scenes, the waters are becoming increasingly muddied by the day.

What is clear is that any deal would cost significantly more than £7million ($11.3 million) when he signs after and agent fees, as well as a lucrative wage packet, are taken into consideration.

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