BECKORAMA

“It will be totally different, he will have to adapt more.
It is not a question of passing it out to him and crossing
for someone to head in. A lot more football will be played
there. There are a lot of footballing stars there but I
think he will start in the side.

“Although there was a financial decision it was mainly a
football decision. He will enjoy it there and I am sure
there will be no looking back for him.”

Roberto Carlos is happy that he has signed, but will not let
him take all of the free kicks:

“I'll let him take some of them - but only some. He's scored
some beautiful goals from free kicks but he doesn't have to
take all of them.”

Beckham has agreed to hand over 50% of all personal
sponsorship deals to Real Madrid. Real's sporting director
Jorge Valdano highlighted how important the image rights
were to the deal:

“It was the key to the negotiations. We demand 50 per cent
of our players' image rights. We consider this issue
indispensable because the other players have followed this
policy.

“In the case of Beckham it was more complicated because his
potential image is very impressive, but the player agreed.
This agreement marked the player's wish to come to Real
Madrid even by losing money. His personal publicity is 111
hours per year and he manages to do this during his
holidays.”

Beckham will not get to wear the number seven, which belongs
to Raul. Valdano said:

“Beckham will follow the norms at Real Madrid and wear a
free number between one and 25. All the players who have
come here in recent years have done the same, choosing one
of the numbers that has become free.”

Owen Hargreaves has voiced an opinion:

“David Beckham doesn't belong in the UEFA Cup where
Barcelona will be next season. He is one of the premier
players in Europe. It would have been a shame to see him at
Barcelona because they aren't the force they were a few
years ago. They have a great history but haven't achieved
recently.

“At the moment the best clubs in the world are Manchester
United, AC Milan, Real Madrid. If you leave United, the
great moves are either Milan or Real. They are the best
bets.

“Some of the teams in the Champions League are among the
strongest in the world, if you look at AC Milan and Real
Madrid they are all-star teams. Everyone wants the chance to
play in the Champions League. It is the best education to
play in 14 or 15 games a season at the highest level.

"It is excellent preparation for international matches for
instance. You learn from your team-mates and opponents a lot
quicker than somebody just playing in their domestic
league.”

The Italian papers have reacted to the news:

The Gazzetta Dello Sport's front page cried out "Real Get
Beckham".

"Even the outstanding English player joins the fantasy
team," said the Milan-based sports daily.

Rome-based Corriere Dello Sport headline with "Beckham Is A
Real Player - What A Hit, The Extraordinary Player Goes To
Madrid".

They believe his move to Madrid completes the spending of
Spain's richest club, suggesting it is now a squad which
needs no improvement.

"With David A True Dream Team Is Born," add the paper.