David Beckham cleared by L.A. Galaxy to attend royal wedding

Posted Sunday, April 24, 2011 by Usatoday.com

Since he was one of the A-listers to get a coveted invitation to the royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, David Beckham is going to make sure he's there, even if he has to leave his day job with the L.A. Galaxy.

Beckham told the press Thursday that he will be leaving the Major League Soccer club to attend the ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London on Friday with his celebrity-wife Victoria.

As ESPN's Scott French notes, Beckham has created a difficult few days for himself as the Galaxy will play FC Dallas on Sunday, May 1 in a rematch of last season's Western Conference title game. So, the star midfielder will travel more than 10,000 miles over the weekend in order to meet the team in Texas.

Beckham said he plans on playing in the match but he acknowledged the decision lies with Galaxy coach Bruce Arena.

"I'll go to the wedding on Friday and then I'll fly out of London straight to Dallas on Saturday morning. I'll arrive before the [Galaxy] team. I'm used to the travel. I'll speak to the manager. It'll be down to the manager to see how I feel on the day of the game and I'll do everything right and do everything that is best for the team.

The Los Angeles Times reported Arena "is not thrilled" with the situation but he "understands the priorities in play."

Arena told the Times he expects Beckham to play against Dallas but he had little else to say about his player's plans.

What do you think? Should Beckham fly to England for the royal wedding or stick with his team?

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