Barcelona Bends for Beckham
Talk about your campaign promises.
Joan Laporta, one of six candidates running for the Barcelona club presidency, has acknowledged that he has been negotiating with Manchester United to sign England’s captain David Beckham, arguably the most popular, and expensive, player in the world.
“He is a world-class player and there are a number of other clubs interested in signing him,” Laporta told reporters in Barcelona in what may go down as the understatement of the season.
“We have well-founded hopes that we will soon be able to say more about this signing and I am confident that we can bring him to Barcelona if we win the elections.”
The key part being, “if we win the elections.”
Bringing Beckham to Barcelona would be a huge coup for the club because he has also been rumored to be heading to Barcelona’s bitter rival, Real Madrid, as well as to Italy’s AC Milan, though he has said that he prefers to remain with Manchester.
Spanish media, though, reported this week that Laporta’s representative, Sandro Rossel, met with Manchester Chief Executive Peter Kenyon and discussed a possible $50-million deal for the player.
Beckham, 28, broke his right wrist in last month’s friendly with South Africa and is out of action for six to eight weeks.
A move to Barcelona, though, would mean that Beckham would have to give up a guaranteed spot in the Champions League with United for a possible and, presumably, less prestigious spot in the UEFA Cup or Intertoto play with Barcelona.
Laporta, hoping to ride the publicity to an election victory June 15, is trailing Lluis Bassat in the polls, 30% to 10%, with more than a third of the club’s 95,000 members still undecided.
Money Talks
Still doubt Real Madrid’s financial wherewithal to secure Beckham’s services?
A survey by World Soccer magazine, released Friday, showed that Real Madrid has replaced Manchester United as the world’s richest club.
Real Madrid had an annual income of $300.5 million, according to figures for 2001-02, when it won the Champions League title.
Manchester United was second with income of $247.2 million, and Barcelona was seventh at $176.5 million.
Of the world’s 20 richest clubs, eight are from England, five from Italy, three from Germany and two each from Scotland and Spain.
Strange Bedfellows
Perhaps grasping at straws, Bulgaria Coach Plamen Markhov imposed on his team a ban on sex until after today’s Euro 2004 qualifier against Belgium.
Not that Belgium was all that worried.
“That’s [Markov’s] way of doing it,” Belgium’s Coach Aime Anthuensis told Reuters. “It’s possible it’s a good idea if it guarantees success. Everyone’s got their own style.”
Anthuensis said that his team was also practicing abstinence in anticipation of its match, but not by design.
“The players have all been at the training camp for a week,” he said, “so they have no way of seeing their wives or girlfriends anyway.”
Bulgaria leads Group Eight with 10 points in four matches. Croatia has seven points, Belgium six.
WUSA Tidbits
Atlanta Beat Coach Tom Stone and forward Charmaine Hooper were angered at what they deemed poor officiating in last week’s 1-1 draw with San Diego and let everyone know about it.
The Women’s United Soccer Assn. didn’t care for their tone, however, and fined Stone $250 and Hooper $200. The WUSA disciplinary committee also warned them that stiffer penalties could result from further negative comments.
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Times wire services contributed to this report.
