David Beckham could still bow out of European football by playing in the Champions League with Real Madrid, Predrag Mijatovic, the club’s sporting director, has said.

After Beckham pledged his future to the Los Angeles Galaxy, the Major League Soccer club, two weeks ago, Fabio Capello, the Real coach, said that the former England captain would never play for him again. However, Mijatovic said last night: “Of course he could play against Bayern Munich [in the first knockout round on February 20]. You have to understand Capello’s comments in their context. It was the normal reaction — one of rage.”

Mijatovic has revealed for the first time the degree to which Beckham’s move to the United States stunned Real officials. “In October we made him an offer to renew his contract for two years,” Mijatovic said. “He wanted to wait and see. Among other things he wanted to be sure that he was going to be playing [regularly].

“Two weeks ago we had another meeting. We came to the conclusion that he was not going to renew and then, one hour later, he had made public that he had signed with the Americans. We could not believe it. The truth is, we do feel a bit betrayed.”

Real have been backpedalling since Capello’s outburst and Mijatovic confirmed that clear-the-air talks between the club and the Beckham camp are on the agenda. He rejected claims that the club were committing “commercial suicide” by selling Beckham.

Last week, a study from Navarra University in Spain claimed that Beckham, 31, made Real £30 million a year and the wisdom of selling him was questioned. But Mijatovic said: “People are mistaken about who it is who brings in the money at Madrid. Adidas were with Madrid before Beckham. It’s true that Real earned a lot of money with contracts that certain stars had signed before their arrival. But there’s another reality to it.

“When you are at Madrid, for every pound a sponsor used to give you, they now give you five and the players know this. What sells above everything else is the club.”

In terms of making money for the club, Beckham was outdone by Ronaldo, according to the university report, and the Brazil striker is in a similar situation, with Capello refusing to pick him. The club are hoping that AC Milan will sign Ronaldo, although the Italians’ reluctance to spend any money on the 29-year-old remains a sticking point. Mijatovic said: “Ronaldo is not going to go on a free. We are not going to make anyone’s life easier.”

With Beckham and Ronaldo sidelined, Real have reverted to youth, fielding a team at the weekend with an average age of 24. But Mijatovic confirmed that the days of record- breaking signings are not gone.

“Now it is complicated to sign a good player who can play in the Champions League,” he said. “But [in the summer] we are going to do everything possible to bring Kaká [the Milan midfield player]. Next season we are going to sign one or two big players. This season we have built a strong squad capable of winning. Next year we will be playing with a different set of cards.”

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