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Barcelona beckons Man Utd agrees to fee; Beckham resists transferPosted: Tuesday June 10, 2003 6:11 AMUpdated: Tuesday June 10, 2003 3:11 PM
LONDON (AP) -- Manchester United agreed to sell David Beckham to Barcelona on Tuesday, but the English superstar indicated he would reject the deal. (Beckham Factbox) After months of speculation about Beckham's future, Manchester United said it had accepted a transfer bid for the England captain from Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta. The deal is contingent on Laporta winning Sunday's election and Beckham agreeing to contract terms. But Beckham's management company, SFX, issued a statement saying he had no plans 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," it said.
As is customary in transfers, no fee was disclosed by Manchester United. Newspaper reports have said any bid for Beckham would have to be at least 30 million pounds (US$48 million). At a news conference in Barcelona, Laporta said he would be talking to Beckham as soon as the player returned from the United States. Sidelined with a broken wrist, Beckham and his wife Victoria, a former Spice Girl, are in Los Angeles. "It's true that this agreement with Manchester United has a condition that we reach a arrange an agreement with the player and with his agent," Laporta said. "I respect the position of the agent of the player and we hope to convince them in order for David Beckham to come to Barcelona if we win the next election at the club. "If I am not elected president, I would turn over the transfer to the man who does win," Laporta said. Another candidate in Sunday's election, Josep Martinez-Rovira, said he had no interest in signing the England captain, perhaps the world's most recognizable soccer star. "Beckham is a media signing and more of a dream than reality. He is a player we would never try to sign," Martinez-Rovira told Spanish radio. "Beckham makes a lot of news off the pitch, but we're not interested in appearing in gossip columns," he said. Sandro Rosell, Laporta's campaign manager, insisted the deal could still go through despite Beckham's apparent rejection. "I think that, if we win the elections, there are big possibilities of that happening," Rosell told Sky Sports News. "We are not using Beckham at all. We are following FIFA rules. We did not talk to the player first because the first thing was to talk to the club." Beckham's father, Ted, said he would urge his son to stay. "I don't want him to go," he said. "I shall tell him not to go there. I want him to stay at Manchester United." "I don't want him to go just because a certain person wants him to go," he said, in a clear reference to manager Alex Ferguson.
Another Spanish club, Real Madrid, and the Italian teams AC Milan and Internazionale also had been linked to a possible move for the 28-year-old midfielder. Beckham has helped Manchester United win six of its eight league titles in 11 years and the European Champions Cup in 1999. He has been at Manchester United for almost 13 years, including its youth teams. If Beckham moved to Barcelona, he would miss out on European soccer next season because the club failed to qualify for either the Champions League or UEFA Cup competitions. Manchester United, AC Milan and Inter Milan are already in the Champions Cup, and Real Madrid appears set to join them. Before Tuesday's announcement, Beckham had told the Los Angeles Times he was happy to stay at Manchester United but had never said he would remain there for the rest of his career. Beckham is paid a reported 90,000 pounds (US$143,000) a week at Manchester United. His net worth is US$79.5 million, according to a recent survey of Britain's richest people in The Sunday Times. He has a myriad of endorsement and sponsorship deals and is featured on billboard and magazine covers around much of the world. If the deal does go through, Beckham could face his old team for the first time Aug. 3. Manchester United plays Barcelona in an exhibition game that opens Philadelphia's new Lincoln Financial Field. Manchester United's U.S. tour is aimed at enhancing the club's profile in a country where soccer takes a back seat to other sports. Beckham is getting even more visibility of late in the British film "Bend it Like Beckham," with the title based on his trademark ability to curl a free kick over a wall of defenders into the net. Although Manchester United is soccer's wealthiest club, making big profits every year, it cannot afford to buy players without trying to balance the books. Two players the club is said to be interested in are Brazilian World Cup star Ronaldinho of Paris Saint Germain and Harry Kewell, Leeds United's Australian forward. "There will always be changes at a team like Man Utd," Beckham told the LA Times. Beckham dismissed suggestions of a rift with Ferguson despite several publicized fallouts. Ferguson left his star player on the bench several times last season. In the locker room after a 2-0 loss to Arsenal, Ferguson kicked a soccer boot that accidentally struck Beckham above the left eye. "Despite what many people say about me and Sir Alex Ferguson, he's been a father figure to me," Beckham said. Ferguson has not made any public comments on Beckham's future with the club.
Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. |
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