Beckham’s Italian job may be a non-starter

AC MILAN president and Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi last night poured cold water on reports that his club might sign England captain David Beckham from Manchester United.

“There are many better ways of spending money that has been earned with many sacrifices other than hiring Mr Beckham,” Berlusconi told a news conference in Jerusalem.

Berlusconi was in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Last week, AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani, who effectively runs the club on Berlusconi’s behalf, said that although “intrigued” by Beckham, a deal would be too expensive.

Speculation over Beckham’s future has intensified since United said on Saturday that Italian and Spanish clubs had expressed a “firm interest”.

Spain’s Real Madrid and Barcelona, and Milan’s city rivals Inter, have all been linked with the midfielder.

But Beckham’s range of options appears to be shrinking, and Berlusconi’s comments follow scepticism about Barca’s ability to finance a move.

Joan Laporta, a candidate for the presidency of the Catalan club, has said that he has been in talks to buy Beckham, but on Sunday Lluis Bassat, the front-runner in the election campaign, cast doubt on the chance of a bid.

“AC Milan have said they cannot afford to pay for him and they are in a much better financial situation than us,” said Bassat.

Meanwhile, a leading Real Madrid official said that Beckham would have to sign over his image rights if he were to join the Spanish giants.

“Right now he is one of the most important players in terms of marketing,” Emilio Butragueno, a former Real Madrid and Spain forward, told delegates at a conference yesterday.

Butragueno, who gave a presentation on Real’s marketing strategy, refused to be drawn on whether the club was about to sign the Man United midfielder and England captain.

“Beckham is an icon,” he said. “But we have two games left in our league and we are fighting for the title.

“We have to create the right environment for our players, so we don’t want to talk about future signings.”

Real has sponsorship deals with Pepsi, Adidas and Siemens, and wants to extend its activities in Asia, where Beckham is already well-known.