BECKHAM PINES FOR OLD TRAFFORD RETURN

“The Beckhams are still shocked/stunned about his exclusion from the England squad. Brand Beckham have been having crisis talks (new range of frangrances out v soon apparently), as they were going to make a massive deal when he got 100 caps, new DB100 range of things I think.

“So, the new plan is to return to England, and United, like a white knight on the white horse to 'save' United. Stranger things have happened. January could be about the right time too.”

The Guardian had this to say yesterday:

Beckham has 11 months to run on his current deal and will be free to negotiate with other clubs from January 1. He admitted in February that it was a "bit strange" not to have renewed his contract yet but Calderón spoke to Beckham's manager during the club's pre-season tour of the United States, insisting that he wants to sign a deal "as soon as possible".

Reports leaked by Real Madrid claimed in January 2005 that Beckham had been offered an extension only for him to claim they had said nothing to him. In September 2005 he would admit that there was only "talk about talks". That Beckham wanted a larger slice of his image rights slowed things down but serious negotiations simply never happened.

In February Beckham expressed surprise that there had been no real progress and claimed to want a deal done before this summer's World Cup. "When I was at United it never really went past the two-year mark but things are done differently here and things are done differently with this president," he said.

Beckham's camp remain convinced that their position is strong but, stripped of the England captaincy and no longer guaranteed a starting place by Capello, Real believe his bargaining power has diminished. They also believe he will be willing formally to sign a new deal at last - assuming, that is, they finally get round to actually offering one.

I'm just about to sign...

Jan 11, 2005

"[A contract renewal] hasn't been mentioned to me yet but it has been in the papers and of course I would like to sign an extension. I would never complain if I was to extend my contract here."

April 7, 2005

"If a club doesn't want me, then I'll think about going elsewhere but when the president comes out and says things like that [he would sooner sell the Bernabéu than Beckham] it's nice."

August 4, 2005

"A big part of my desire to stay beyond the end of my [current] contract is my family, my wife and children, because they love living in Spain."

September 26, 2005

"There was talk of me speaking to the club about the contract and we have spoken about a meeting in the next month or maybe the next two months. The club have said they want to talk about signing a new deal and I'm very happy to do that."

February 6, 2006

"I'm 99% certain that I'll be staying and signing a new contract. We may even begin talks before the summer now. We have spoken to the club and they are fine. At the moment there is a lot of football going on, and we have said we will sit down and discuss it properly."

March 30, 2006

"Madrid are very keen on getting talks under way and we are very keen on getting those talks under way as well. It would be a good thing if it gets sorted before the World Cup but even if it didn't I wouldn't go into the tournament worried about my future

Meanwhile Beckham missed training last night. From the BBC:

David Beckham was late for Real Madrid's evening training session - on the night England played their first match since he was dropped.

The 31-year-old had to train alone after arriving at Real's Valdebebas headquarters an hour-and-a-half late and may be fined by boss Fabio Capello.

His private flight from London on Wednesday was delayed because of heightened airport security in Britain.