MANCHESTER UNITED last night confirmed David Beckham’s departure to Real Madrid in a cut-price deal that will earn them a maximum of £24.5 million and potentially far less. At the optimum price, Beckham could still become the second most expensive English player in history when he completes the transfer on July 2, but, after several days of haggling with Real, United were compelled to settle on a fee significantly lower than the projected £30 million deal than they had already accepted from Barcelona.
After an afternoon of intense negotiations, United confirmed at 9pm that an agreement with Real had been reached whereby they will receive a guaranteed £17.5 million from the Spanish club, with a further £7 million dependent on future events. While United will argue that it is a fair price in a deflated transfer market, for a player unwilling to extend a contract that had two years to run, United would have been guaranteed £23 million and up to another £7 million had Beckham agreed to join Barcelona, with whom they agreed a deal just seven days earlier.
At approximately the same time that United made their statement, Beckham, whose wages will remain around £90,000 a week over the four-year contract, was departing for a week-long promotional tour of the Far East, precisely the type of activity that led, first, Sir Alex Ferguson and then the United plc board to conclude that the England captain’s celebrity had spiralled far beyond their control. Their determination to sell their most celebrated asset as quickly as possible, after the well-documented deterioration of his relationship with Ferguson, is underlined by the haste with which talks with Real were concluded.
Real, having first approached Beckham’s advisers in April, made their first informal approach to United early last week and did not hold serious discussions until Friday when Pedro Lopez, their chief negotiator, flew to Sardinia to meet Peter Kenyon, the English club’s chief executive.
At that point, the clubs were poles apart in their valuation of the 28-year-old, with Real intent on offering no more than £14 million with another player moving to Old Trafford in part-exchange, but another two sessions of tough negotiating on Monday and yesterday resulted in an agreement.
Ferguson had been conspicuous by his silence since it became apparent in April that a parting of the ways was inevitable, but, in a statement that followed last night’s announcement, he wished Beckham good luck in Madrid. “I’ve known David since he was 11 years of age and it’s been a pleasure to see him grow and develop into the player he has become,” Ferguson said.
“David has been an integral part of all the successes United have achieved in the last decade. I would like to wish him and his family every success in the future and thank him for his service to the club.”
Ferguson’s thoughts were echoed by Peter Kenyon, the United chief executive. “While we are sad to see David go after so many great years, we believe this is a good deal for the club and we look forward to building on the success of last season,” he said. “We wish David all the best in his new career and thank him for his fantastic contribution to the team’s achievements in the last decade.”
Beneath the warmth of those statements, however, the the parting of the ways was far from amicable. Privately, Ferguson had been driven to distraction, with one source close to the United manager saying that “Alex wants football players, not movie stars”.
The whole Beckham phenomenon went against the grain for Ferguson, who is not only from the sport’s old school but less than convinced by the player’s claims to world-class status, leaving him out of the team on merit for many important matches last season.
Ferguson’s other argument, when he first suggested to the board in April that Beckham should be sold, was that Beckham’s talents did not fit into the fluid 4-2-3-1 formation on which he plans to base his tactics for next season’s Champions League assault. He persuaded them that sacrificing Beckham would enable him to buy three world-class players, among them Ronaldinho, the Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil forward, and Harry Kewell, of Leeds United.
Efforts will now be made to stop them joining Barcelona and Arsenal respectively.
If the board had initial reservations about Ferguson’s views, the basis of which lay in a clash of personalities, they were convinced of the need to sell once it became clear that Beckham had little or no intention of staying at Old Trafford in the longer term. The Times revealed as long ago as April that he and his advisers had no plans to discuss an extension to his contract, which was due to expire in 2005, and was angling for a move to Madrid in the belief that it would improve him as a player and, not least, optimise his commercial potential.
Scare stories suggested that United could lose up to £100million in commercial and merchandising revenue if they sold their most recognised asset, but this was never the case. Under the terms of a 13-year contract made with Nike in the autumn of 2000, United are guaranteed £23.3 million a year in merchandising revenue until 2015, having handed over control of that area to the American sportswear company.
Hence the deal is seen as beneficial to all concerned, with United earning a substantial fee for a player who cost nothing and Real landing an icon and talented footballer. Vicente Del Bosque, the Real coach, has even hinted that Beckham could finally be given the central midfield role denied him by Ferguson.
Jorge Valdano, Real’s director general, said that Beckham’s versatility was a key factor in Real signing him. “Top players will always find a place here,” he said. “At the moment the best question is where David is going to play, not where Luis Figo is going to play. I am sure Figo will play in his normal position (on the right flank), but nobody is worried about Beckham, either.”
What Beckham said last night
“I would like to publicly thank Sir Alex Ferguson for making me the player I am today.
“I will always hold precious memories of my time at Manchester United and Old Trafford as well as the players, who I regard as part of my family, and the brilliant fans who have given me so much support over the years and continue to do so.
“I recognise that this is an amazing opportunity for me at this stage in my career and a unique and exciting experience for my family.
“I know that I will always regret it later in life if I had turned down the chance to play at another great club like Real Madrid, which also has world-class players.
“I would like to thank other clubs who were interested in signing me, including Barcelona, and I wish them every success, but I really want to play in the Champions League.
“I wish Manchester United the best of luck and led by such an inspirational captain as Roy Keane, I am sure they will continue to go from strength to strength.”
