Irish striker to stay in the States.
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Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane has agreed a deal with the LA Galaxy that could keep him at the club for the next three years, Sky Sports reports.
Keane joined MLS giants Galaxy in 2011, and bar a short spell with Aston Villa in 2012 he has remained with the side and helped them to a national championship last season before a playoff defeat to Real Salt Lake this time around.
And despite the playoff heartbreak he is adamant that he is happy to stay where he is for the foreseeable future.
“I’ve just verbally agreed a two-year contract, maybe extending to three,” he said.
“I’m certainly excited about that and playing for the Galaxy in the future. I didn’t think I was going to go there and then come back to the Premier League, but I’m enjoying my football there and the club has been very good to me.
“As soon as you hit that 30 age mark in football, people are reluctant to give you contracts but this will be the third contract I’ve signed since I’ve been there and it shows the faith they have in me.
“Since I’ve been there, it’s been a strong league. It’s a tough league because of the structure that works there with everyone competing at roughly the same level. Every team can beat every other, so it’s very competitive.
“When people come over to play in it, I always tell them, ‘don’t think you’re coming over for a holiday’. There’s a lot of pressure on the three designated players [each team can sign three players outside of the league’s salary cap] as people are expecting you to deliver all the time.”
And the 33-year-old confirmed that he will be spending time in his native Ireland during the off season in order to work towards his coaching badges, but he is far from hanging up his boots just yet.
“I’ve still got a good few years left in me,” he added. “But I’m looking to do my coaching badges in January in Ireland.
“The FAI has a good structure here to help players if they want to do that. It’s something I’m passionate about and need to get into if I want to stay in the game.”