ALL THE LATEST BECKHAM NEWS

His father Ted Beckham has said:

“He is Manchester United through and through. They're the
only club he's ever wanted to play for. At the end of the
day he is a Manchester United player, he always has been and
he always will be. As far as I know he wants to stay at
Manchester United, but at the end of the day it's his
decision.”

Barca presidential hopeful Joan Laporta has been variously
quoted as saying:

“I cannot deny that we have presented a project to
Manchester to sign David Beckham and briefly we will comment
what the situation is. At the moment I cannot say anything
more but I trust that we can sign him.”

The Mirror quote him saying:

"It's true that we have spoken with United. I can't go into
every detail but nor can I deny it. I'm fighting to bring
David Beckham to Barcelona. He is a player of the highest
class and also the sort of celebrity and character we want.

"There are very few teams that could sign David Beckham, but
we are one of them. We've shown our project to Manchester
United and think it is very solid. We like the taste of it
and know that he is somebody we can trust to work with us at
every level, not just as a player.

"Any team in football would want to have David Beckham and
as far as the negotiations go we are confident, very
confident."

In The Sun he says:

"We have shown United guarantees and they are very happy.
Everything is in place. The way David Beckham plays the
game, he is guaranteed to be a star here in Barcelona. The
fans will love him. I have always admired him as a player.
These are the reasons we want him here.

"He can be the leader of the new Barcelona. He is a great
player. The fans would be so excited if he was to come here.
He would be at the start of something special."

Laporta’s deputy, Sandro Rosell, told the Sun:

"I have had good talks with United's chief executive Peter
Kenyon and I am very optimistic about Beckham signing. Peter
has indicated to me he's interested in the possibility of
Beckham being sold to Barcelona.

"I can't believe the club have not talked with Beckham's
people if they are giving us this indication. We believe we
will have him signed before the start of next season."

The Sun also quotes an unnamed Old Trafford source as
saying:

"People in high positions at the club believe his
priorities go like this - his own personal future, England
and then Manchester United. And that is why it has been
decided to part company now. His relationship with the
manager is not the best either, although those problems
could be overcome. But with only two years left on his
current contract this looks like the right time to sell."

Frank Stapleton has thrown in his two-pennies worth on Sky
Sports News:

"I don't think you should ever be surprised at what happens
in football. I think they (the United board) have got to
look at it, particularly as £30million in the transfer
market is an awful lot of money and Sir Alex Ferguson is
looking to rebuild in the summer to make a real impact next
season.

"Once the club are speaking to their clubs it is very
difficult for the player to come back and say he wants to
stay. Once they start talking to other clubs the writing is
on the wall. They wouldn't do that if they weren't open to
offers."

Brazilian football ‘expert’ Simon Clifford (who? Answers on
a postcard to redissue@hotmail.com) said:

"If you're going to keep Beckham, don't bring in Ronaldinho.
The team will have to change fundamentally."

But the Indie report that it could all come to nothing, as
Laporta is significantly behind in the election race:

‘Joan Laporta is running second in the Barça elections
behind his main rival, Lluis Bassat. Laporta claims to have
a pre-agreement with Manchester United about a deal for
Beckham, but despite that he is still trailing as the 15
June close of ballots approaches.

‘Laporta has 5,145 votes compared to Bassat's 8,590,
suggesting his best hope is to form an alliance with one of
the other four candidates. However, the chances of him
winning and then finding the £30m needed for Beckham seems
increasingly unlikely.’

And The Times claim that Beckham doesn’t want to move to
Barca at all:

‘United’s eagerness to sell David Beckham to Barcelona is
threatening to cause further disunion with the England
captain and his advisers, who have privately stated that
their preference is for a transfer to Real Madrid. United
have given their approval to a proposal put forward by Joan
Laporta, one of Barcelona’s leading presidential candidates,
but are reluctant to allow Beckham to join Real, whom they
perceive as rivals on both a sporting and a commercial
basis.’