Club Accept Laporta's Beckham Offer
By Chris O'Brien
June 10 2003
The club has announced they have accepted an offer from Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta to sign David Beckham. The player though is adamant that he does not want to leave Old Trafford, to join the Barca who are having to start their season early to prepare for Intertoto Cup football.
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Club Accept Laporta's Beckham Offer |
| Manchester United have confirmed that
they have accepted an offer from presidential candidate Joan Laporta to sign
David Beckham. Should the Spaniard be elected to the post of Barcelona president, he will hope to begin talks with the England skipper over a move to the Nou Camp. Beckham though, has announced that he has no plans to move away from Old Trafford. He has also claimed he is being used as a political prawn in Barca's presidential elections. A spokesman for David Beckham has said: "David is very disappointed and surprised to learn of this statement and has no plans to meet Mr Laporta or his representatives." The club released the following statement on their decision to accept Laporta's offer: "Manchester United confirms that in the event that all of the conditions are fulfilled then the offer would be acceptable." Although the club has not mentioned what Laporta's offer is, it is believed to be in the region of £30million. Laporta is confident that he will be in talks with Beckham, saying: "When David Beckham arrives from holiday, we will begin negotiations with him." Beckham's reactions though suggest he is not interested in a move to the Nou Camp. This could be down to a number of reasons, but Champions League football is bound to be one of them. Barcelona had a dismal domestic campaign last season, and it was only thanks to a late surge of victories that they managed to climb to 8th in La Liga. This means the Catalan club missed out on Champions League football, and have been forced to go through the rather embarrassing procedure of applying for entry to the Intertoto Cup in an attempt to ensure they do not miss out on European football for the first time in their history. Beckham is also a Manchester United fan, and loves the club. Although he recently hinted that his long-term future may not belong with Old Trafford. "I've never said that I'd never move away from Manchester, and I've never said that I'd end my career there," said Beckham to a Los Angeles newspaper. Questions have also been raised over Beckham's relationship with his manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The recent incident when Ferguson 'accidentally' kicked a boot at Beckham's face in the changing rooms sparked off talks that he was to leave Old Trafford, and it is a well-known fact that Fergie is not a fan of Becks' superstar image. AC Milan, Real Madrid and Inter Milan are all still rumoured to be interested in signing the midfielder, but there has been no formal offer from any of these clubs. The 'Beckham Transfer Saga' is still a long way from reaching an ending, and there will undoubtedly be twists and turns along the way until his future is confirmed. |
