David Beckham will not face the UAE's Olympic footballers this summer after being dropped from Team GB's men's football squad.
The 37-year-old said in a statement he had not been picked for the finalised squad to compete against Uruguay, Senegal and the UAE.
The LA Galaxy star had been strongly tipped to feature in Stuart Pearce's Olympics team - particularly after his role in winning the Games for London during the 2005 bidding process.
But it now looks unlikely the former England skipper will take part after he confirmed he had not named as one of the three overage players for the 18-man squad.
"Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me, so I would have been honoured to have been part of this unique Team GB squad," he said.
"Naturally I am very disappointed, but there will be no bigger supporter of the team than me. And like everyone, I will be hoping they can win the gold.
"As a Londoner I was really proud to have played a small part in bringing the Olympics to my home town as part of Seb's [Coe] team and I can't wait for the Games to begin and will enjoy every moment along with the rest of Great Britain."
Reports from the UK indicate Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy have been included as anticipated, along with Manchester City defender Micah Richards - who was not included in England's Euro 2012 squad.
