DAVID BECKHAM was told yesterday that he will never play for Real Madrid again. The club’s Italian coach Fabio Capello wrote off the rest of the former England captain’s season in Spain, saying: “We can’t count on him and we won’t count on him because he has committed himself to another club.”

Beckham will now be forced to train in isolation and watch the rest of the season’s matches on television after seeing his hopes of winning a trophy before he walks away from the club in the summer destroyed. Real Madrid’s bosses are believed to be uneasy about the prospect of the rest of their season being overshadowed by Beckham’s move to Los Angeles. They are also unhappy to have lost Beckham on a free transfer, especially given the publicity accorded to the remarkable financial terms of the player’s deal in America.

Their response is to make Beckham pay. Capello said: “Let’s make this clear — a player that has such an important contract with another club can’t play for us. He will not play. He will train with us but he is not going to play. It’s the club’s decision.”

In a statement issued after he signed for LA Galaxy on Thursday, Beckham said he would be giving 100% for Capello until the end of the season, but the Italian manager said: “When a player has a contract with a different club he can’t have the same desire in his play. We don’t have any choice. We won’t count on him because he has committed himself to another club.”

Beckham will still have to report to training but in the build-up to matches he will be forced to train alone or with the youth team.

Faced with seven months out of competitive football, Beckham could now bring forward his switch to Major League Soccer (MLS). He is scheduled to join LA Galaxy in August, midway through their season, but could now try to move in April, when the MLS season kicks off. To do that, he may need to buy himself out of the remainder of a contract that does not run out until the end of the season or hope that Galaxy pay a transfer fee to release him.

Last night an MLS spokesman said he was “sure” that the club would try to buy out Beckham’s contract. “It would be in (club owners) AEG and LA Galaxy’s best interests to buy out the rest of his contract. If it were just a case of buying out his contract then absolutely, they would do it,” said Stephen Rodriguez.

Capello appeared to be unconcerned about the timing of the move. “Is it better for him to go now? That’s a matter for Beckham,” he said. “It doesn’t depend on me if he goes now, it depends on him. Let’s see what he has to say, but he will not play for us.”

Real might prefer Beckham to be loaned out for the rest of the season with another club, possibly from the Premiership, picking up his wages but that will not suit Beckham, who won’t wish to jeopardise his US project by risking injury.

Capello’s comments stunned some club officials at Real. They believed that with Madrid still in three competitions Beckham would be a valuable squad player. Real’s fans are also likely to be shocked by the vehemence of the Italian’s remarks. The club’s poor recent form means Capello is playing a risky game by openly questioning a very popular player’s loyalty.

Beckham’s representative, Simon Oliveira, issued a statement last night saying Beckham had been surprised by Real’s decision but that the player was determined to “continue to give his full commitment and professionalism” to the club. Even Capello admitted: “He has always been a great professional — he is a great professional. He will carry on training to make sure he is in good condition. I can’t say anything against Beckham as he always conducts himself perfectly in training.”

League rules in Spain will still allow Beckham to pick up a medal if Real win the league, but it will be little consolation to him having started just five league games all season — three of which ended in defeat.

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