Time to move on, admits Beckham
Daniel Taylor
Tuesday June 10, 2003
The Guardian
David Beckham has reluctantly accepted his future lies away from Manchester United. In his first interview since the club confirmed Italian and Spanish clubs had "expressed a firm interest", Beckham made it clear he is prepared to move if United no longer want him. "I've never said that I would never move away from Manchester," he said, "and I've never said that I would end my career there."
Five weeks since issuing a statement saying he wants to stay at Old Trafford, the England captain now seems increasingly resigned to the idea that Sir Alex Ferguson considers him dispensable.
Asked directly about his future, he told the Los Angeles Times yesterday: "There will always be changes at a club like Manchester United. With all the big teams, there are always going to be changes."
One option that would have appealed to Beckham seemed to close yesterday, however, when Milan's president Silvio Berlusconi ended their interest, saying: "There are many better ways of spending money."
However, Berlusconi was similarly dismissive of a move for the Lazio defender Alessandro Nesta last year; a month later he was a Milan player.
Beckham emphasised he had not instigated the transfer discussions and was not seeking to leave. "The rumours have been going on for two months now. About a month ago, it was Real Madrid and now it's Barcelona. But I'm a Manchester United player and I'm contracted for another two years. As long as they want me, then I'll stay."
Yet he is also acutely aware that United's hierarchy have answered that question by touting him across the continent. And on Thursday there will be another significant development when Pini Zihavi, the Israeli agent employed by United to get the best price, flies in for talks with senior officials and Beckham's advisers, Tony Stephens and Jon Holmes.
Zihavi is a close associate of Joan Laporta, the Barcelona presidential candidate who has promised to sign Beckham if he wins the club elections this weekend. However, Beckham has reservations about joining a club who have not yet qualified for next season's Uefa Cup.
That leaves Real Madrid as the most likely suitors, although it has also become clear that Beckham and his wife would prefer a move to Italy. He might also be aggrieved to find that his status at Old Trafford is not such that the fans will side with him against Ferguson.
Richard Kurt, author of several books on the club, said: "If Beckham played for another club and was available for £30m, should we buy him? Every United fan to whom I've put that question has said 'no'.
"There's a huge divergence in those fans who never go to Old Trafford, and are up in arms, to those who go week in week out. He's an icon to the new-age football fan, the mothers and the girls. But the regular fans are two to one in favour of letting him go."
<a href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,974219,00.html" target="_blank">http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,974219,00.html</a>
Daniel Taylor
Tuesday June 10, 2003
The Guardian
David Beckham has reluctantly accepted his future lies away from Manchester United. In his first interview since the club confirmed Italian and Spanish clubs had "expressed a firm interest", Beckham made it clear he is prepared to move if United no longer want him. "I've never said that I would never move away from Manchester," he said, "and I've never said that I would end my career there."
Five weeks since issuing a statement saying he wants to stay at Old Trafford, the England captain now seems increasingly resigned to the idea that Sir Alex Ferguson considers him dispensable.
Asked directly about his future, he told the Los Angeles Times yesterday: "There will always be changes at a club like Manchester United. With all the big teams, there are always going to be changes."
One option that would have appealed to Beckham seemed to close yesterday, however, when Milan's president Silvio Berlusconi ended their interest, saying: "There are many better ways of spending money."
However, Berlusconi was similarly dismissive of a move for the Lazio defender Alessandro Nesta last year; a month later he was a Milan player.
Beckham emphasised he had not instigated the transfer discussions and was not seeking to leave. "The rumours have been going on for two months now. About a month ago, it was Real Madrid and now it's Barcelona. But I'm a Manchester United player and I'm contracted for another two years. As long as they want me, then I'll stay."
Yet he is also acutely aware that United's hierarchy have answered that question by touting him across the continent. And on Thursday there will be another significant development when Pini Zihavi, the Israeli agent employed by United to get the best price, flies in for talks with senior officials and Beckham's advisers, Tony Stephens and Jon Holmes.
Zihavi is a close associate of Joan Laporta, the Barcelona presidential candidate who has promised to sign Beckham if he wins the club elections this weekend. However, Beckham has reservations about joining a club who have not yet qualified for next season's Uefa Cup.
That leaves Real Madrid as the most likely suitors, although it has also become clear that Beckham and his wife would prefer a move to Italy. He might also be aggrieved to find that his status at Old Trafford is not such that the fans will side with him against Ferguson.
Richard Kurt, author of several books on the club, said: "If Beckham played for another club and was available for £30m, should we buy him? Every United fan to whom I've put that question has said 'no'.
"There's a huge divergence in those fans who never go to Old Trafford, and are up in arms, to those who go week in week out. He's an icon to the new-age football fan, the mothers and the girls. But the regular fans are two to one in favour of letting him go."
<a href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,974219,00.html" target="_blank">http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,974219,00.html</a>
