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Madrid back in race for Beckham
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/06/12 11:23  Shanghai Daily

  With David Beckham resisting a move to Barcelona, newspapers in England and Spain said yesterday the door is wide open for Real Madrid to sign the England captain.

  Manchester United announced on Tuesday it had agreed to sell Beckham to Barcelona. The deal was contingent on Joan Laporta winning the club presidential election on Sunday and Beckham agreeing to contract terms.

  But Beckham's agents issued a statement saying he was being used as a "political pawn" and would refuse to meet Laporta or his aides. "David is very disappointed and surprised to learn of this statement and feels that he has been used as a political pawn in the Barcelona presidential elections," SFX, his management company, said on Tuesday.

  Although Italian soccer giants AC Milan and Inter Milan have also expressed an interest, Real Madrid appears to be the new front runner.

  In England, the Daily Mirror tabloid said Madrid president Florentino Perez and sports director Jorge Valdano held a meeting on Tuesday to prepare a bid for the player. But other papers suggested that United doesn't want Beckham to go to one of its biggest rivals in the Champions League.

  While Barcelona hasn't qualified for either the Champions or UEFA Cup competitions, Madrid and the two Milan clubs will be one of United's biggest challengers in the Champions League.

  The English papers also focused on Beck-ham's bitter rift with manager Alex Ferguson, saying he was the figure who wanted him out. The Mirror said Ferguson gave the go-ahead to sell Beckham while on holiday in France and without telling the player. "What a way to treat a hero," the paper headlined, sugges-ting the England captain would face a season on the United bench if he refused to leave.The Daily Mail carried a front-page photo of Beckham with the gash over his left eye after Ferguson kicked a soccer boot in the locker room that struck the star in the face. The paper described the Barcelona deal as "a 30-million-pound kick in the teeth."

  Married to pop star "Posh Spice" Victoria, famous for changing his hairstyles and going on much publicized shopping sprees, Beckham makes headlines wherever he goes.

  According to the papers, Ferguson is tired of the Beckham "circus" and is determined to show that he and the club aren't overshadowed by the behavior of one player.

  The Times of London said it was a bitter end to Beckham's 13-year spell with the club.

  "What little hope there had been of a fond farewell between David Beckham and Manchester United was destroyed as the most high-profile transfer in British football history turned nasty," the paper said.

  "Made brutally aware that his club since childhood are keen to be rid of him as quickly as possible, Beckham's camp issued an angry statement insisting that they will not be pushed around."

  In Spain, Madrid papers said the transfer deal with Barcelona was virtually off and that Beckham really wanted to play for Real Madrid. But sports dailies in Barcelona gave the impression his signing for the north-eastern club was a done deal. "Beckham OK" was the front page headline of both the Barcelona-based Sport and El Mundo Deportivo papers. Sport put the transfer deal at 35 million euros (US million).

  But Josep Martinez-Rovira, a candidate in Sunday's election for Barcelona's top post, said he has no interest in landing the England captain. "Beckham is a media signing and more of a dream than reality. He is a player we would never try to sign," he told Spanish radio. He said the 28-year-old midfielder passes well but does not score enough.

  "Beckham makes a lot of news off the pitch, but we're not interested in appearing in gossip columns," he said.

  The Madrid-based daily As headline said: "Beckham Has Chosen Madrid."

  As said Beckham had already enrolled his son, Brooklyn, at a private school in Madrid.

  Sports daily Marca said it could assure its readers that Real was on the verge of reaching a deal with Beckham. Valdano said Real Madrid would make no comment until after the Spanish league ends in two weeks.




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