Paris Saint-Germain director of football Leonardo says it is “an honour” to have David Beckham bring his career to an end at the club.
The 38-year-old bade an emotional farewell to the Parc des Princes on Saturday, as he was substituted 81 minutes into his side’s 3-1 win over Brest.
Beckham had captained the Ligue 1 champions for the night and is not expected to appear in the season-ending meeting with Lorient next weekend.
Leonardo hailed the former England captain as he calls time on a 20-year career which began with Manchester United and has taken in title-winning spells at Real Madrid and LA Galaxy.
“What can I say? We have been through so many emotions. I think that PSG deserve an evening like this, a wonderful evening,” the Brazilian said.
“And the departure of David, such a great player, such a lovely human being. For him to end his career with PSG, here at the Parc des Princes, it is an honour. And we have celebrated this title after 19 years of patience. The fans were tremendous and the ambience was magic.
“Celebrations can take many forms. But what we really wanted was to win. Today it was the opportunity for everyone to show their true love to PSG in a positive way.
“The next step for PSG is to come back stronger. Victories teach you to be hungry and on that regard, tonight was a very important evening in the history of the club.”
The former Brazil international also discussed the future of coach Carlo Ancelotti, who has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid.
He added: “Carlo [Ancelotti] has a running contract. Today he is the coach of PSG and after – what will happen? What will he say?
“I don’t want to speculate about what will happen. He is our coach and together we are going forward.”
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