Beckham bidding war begins

By Nada Grkinic

The back of Beckham?

Career facts and figures

Photos of his highs and lows

Let the bidding war commence.

Manchester United have accepted an offer for David Beckham from Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta.

The Spaniard will discover whether he is elected to the post on Sunday, but it is unlikely that Beckham will know his fate until the transfer window slams shut on 31 August.

What is certain, however, is that Sir Alex Ferguson wants Beckham the celebrity out and, judging by the statement issued by the Old Trafford club, the sooner the better.

United took the unprecedented, and tasteless step, of agreeing to sell the England captain to Laporta should he take over at the Nou Camp.

Man Utd accept Beckham bid

But the proposed deal with the Catalan club is fraught with potential pitfalls.

Laporta's election to the Barcelona presidency is by no means a foregone conclusion and the Spaniard is clearly attempting to garner as much support as possible ahead of the weekend's voting.

Joan Laporta profile:
The man behind the Beckham bid

His Machiavellian tendencies suggest that Laporta may well have already met the master of such cunning - the United manager himself.

Yet Barcelona, even with Laporta at the helm, would face a multitude of difficulties in getting £30m-rated Beckham to join them.

The Catalan club are in desperate financial straits and would undoubtedly encounter problems in matching or bettering Beckham's current £100,000-a-week wages, which include £20,000-a-week in image rights.

Money clearly matters to Beckham, but so does football and Barca are also struggling on the pitch, having failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Barcelona's fans would surely want their club's new president to rebuild the entire team and not just sign Beckham in the vain hope that he can prove to be their saviour.

For ultimately that is the challenge that would be thrown down to England's hero.

A step down?

Would Beckham be able to single-handedly transform Barcelona's fortunes to the extent that they could again rival Real Madrid on the domestic front?

And would he want to if officials from the Santiago Bernabeu come calling?

The answer has to be no on both counts, and is backed by Beckham's advisors saying that they do not plan to hold talks with Laporta or his representatives.

If Beckham is to leave United, it will be for Real Madrid or AC Milan for to join any other club would represent a step down.

And he is hardly likely to want to do that at a time when Beckham the celebrity precedes Beckham the footballer.

Real have no real need for United's most valuable asset other than to promote their own brand in Asia, while European champions AC Milan, although they have denied any interest in the player, could accommodate the right-sided midfielder.

In putting Beckham up for sale in such a public manner, United will need to find a buyer if they are to save face.

Otherwise it will be not just be figures that are flying around the United boardroom this summer.

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