WAS David Beckham ruthlessly cast aside by the club he has supported since knee high to his hero, Bryan Robson, or was he doing the dirty all along and two-timing with Real Madrid? The truth lies somewhere in the middle but, it any case, it does not really matter. This is a deal that could leave everyone smiling although, with stakes this high, there is also the possibility of collosal embarrassment when we see whether Beckham or Sir Alex Ferguson lifts the European Cup next year.

That can wait. For now, both men might care to set aside their antipathy (as, publically, they attempted to last night) and consider that they have both got what they wanted. They might also consider that their previous estimations of each other remain as valid today as they ever did.

“The bottom line is that, for all the ups and downs, you know that he is making his football decisions for the right reasons,” Beckham wrote of Ferguson in My World, published in 2000, and he might, one day, accept that there were “right reasons” for his sale to Real.

Infuriation at Beckham’s lifestyle played a part in Ferguson’s decision but the United manager has, to borrow Beckham’s phrase, made a football decision. The granite Scotsman has concluded that he wants an elusive trio behind Ruud van Nistelrooy and has set his sights on Ronaldinho and Harry Kewell.

Both deals are precarious but, if they happen, the combined fees should be less than the £18 million downpayment for Beckham. Even at such a deflated figure for the England captain — which was the most notable part of yesterday’s announcement — that makes sound footballing business.

As he packs Beckham off to Spain, Ferguson might also care to cast his eyes back on his own autobiography. “Nobody should underestimate David Beckham,” he wrote. “I do like to have control of my players as they grow up but it is impossible not to admire his resolve. It has served me well on many occasions. When the chips are down on the football field, you can bet your life that David Beckham won’t be found wanting.”

For all Ferguson’s infuriation with Beckham’s celebrity — his anger must have hit new peaks in recent weeks as his player was photographed at showbiz bashes in America — the stripped-down footballer remains an asset to anyone.

He would certainly have helped the United cause against Real in April, which stands out as one of the few occasions when Ferguson has based his selection on an agenda other than straightforward victory. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the right wing? Fair enough, but there was no excuse for putting a half-fit Juan Sebastián Verón on the pitch.

It was on an unforgettable October day in 2001 that Ferguson first began to fear that Beckham was saving his best performances for his country but, while the England captain might never have won a game for United as single-handedly as he saved the game against Greece that afternoon which qualified England for the World Cup, he does not deserve to be accused of letting his club down after more than a decade of dedicated service.

Every one of Ferguson’s players has endured periods of personal crisis. Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand could all have been sold if abject form was the criteria. Beckham experienced his own lows, but who does not slump when they have been in the same job for more than ten years?

More than most players of his generation — and it is a gift greater than all his wonderful free kicks and corners — Beckham retains a raging desire to succeed that has yet to be buried under all the froth of celebrity. Inherited from his father and nurtured on the Essex park pitches, it should serve him well as he moves on to the challenge of securing a place alongside all the other ‘galacticos’ at Real.

Beckham, who is more aware of his marketability than any of the myriad agents and advisers, will know that he has been bought to make his new employers the dominant force in the Far East. Last night’s deal was almost certainly hurried through in order that he can be wearing a Real shirt when he tours through Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand over the next week.

In commercial terms, he is already a success for Real, but it is the fear of failure on the field that will drive Beckham on as he looks forward to a new adventure in Spain. He will back his own abilities to find a berth, even if it is hard to see how he can fill the central role supposedly prepared for him without Real looking even more defensively suspect than they did last season.

All those thoughts will be swirling around Beckham’s head as he contemplates the reality of a move abroad that is daunting even for a man of his means. He has thought about it for a long time but it took his one-time mentor, Ferguson, to push him into the deep end.

The United manager believes that his team will improve without Beckham and he might be right — but the Scot will also be backing his old player to swim rather than sink.

Record moves

1, £47.2m Z Zidane, Juventus to R Madrid

2, £37.2m L Figo, Barcelona to R Madrid

3, £35m H Crespo, Parma to Lazio

4, £33m Ronaldo, Inter to Real Madrid

5, £32.6m G Buffon, Parma to Juventus

6, £31m C Vieri, Lazio to Inter

7, £30.2m A Nesta, Lazio to AC Milan

8, £30m R Ferdinand, Leeds to Man U

9, £29m H Crespo, Lazio to Inter

10, £28.5m G Mendieta, Valencia to Lazio

11, £28.1m J S Veròn, Lazio to Man U

12, £25m P Nedved, Lazio to Juventus

12, £25m D Beckham, Man U to R Madrid

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