David Beckham Plans his Third and Final Trip To Australia

David Beckham is coming back to Australia in what is expected to be the last chance his legion of fans here will get to see him play live.

The Australian understands negotiations are well advanced for Beckham's Major League Soccer club, LA Galaxy, to play Melbourne Victory in November as part of Galaxy's end-of-season tour.

It will be the third time the Americans and Beckham, one of the most recognisable sportspeople in the world, will have played in Australia following the success of games against Sydney FC in 2007 and Newcastle Jets in October last year.

The Galaxy squad will also include former West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane, who is understood to have signed a $US10 million ($9.5m) three-year deal to play alongside Beckham.

But all eyes will again be on the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, who at 36 is in the final stages of his illustrious career. Beckham is in the final year of a five-year, $US33m deal with Galaxy, after joining the club in 2007, but his future is clouded.

He said recently he would like to play for at least another two years, depending on how his body felt, and that the MLS appeared his main option if he continued.

"If I continue to feel like I do right now, I'll continue to play," Beckham said during a press conference before the MLS All Stars match last month. "I'm happy here. I'm happy playing in this league. I enjoy playing in this country. My family loves living here. But it comes down to how my body feels at the end of the year."

There is little doubt, however, that he remains a huge drawcard wherever he plays.

Not surprisingly, Beckham grabbed media and fan attention during his previous two trips to Australia. He helped attract 80,000 fans to ANZ Stadium for the game against Sydney, thrilling the faithful when he scored with a trademark free kick.

Nearly 24,000 turned out to watch him play in Newcastle against the Jets last October. While he was not 100 per cent fit, Beckham delighted his fans with a class performance, though the Jets ended up winning 2-1.

Apart from Beckham and Keane, Galaxy also boasts the likes of former Colombian, Aston Villa and River Plate striker Juan Pablo Angel and US international Landon Donovan.

Galaxy will be a far more dominant force this time around and could come to Melbourne as MLS champion.

The club is leading the Western Division conference by five points from nearest rival Dallas with nine games to the end of the season.