Beckham breaks silence and insists future is at Old Trafford

DAVID BECKHAM says he wants to stay at Manchester United. The England skipper has finally spoken up after weeks of speculation surrounding his future and confirmed he has no intention of leaving the club he loves.

“There’s been lots of stuff in the media about me and my future but I can honestly say that there has been no contact between either me or my advisers with Real Madrid, or any other club,” Beckham said yesterday.

“I know Peter Kenyon and the manager are saying they want me to stay and that’s good enough for me.

“My affection for the club has never changed from the day I signed for United. My feelings for the club itself, the players, the fans and the backroom staff are as strong as ever.”

In recent days both Real president Francisco Perez and United chief executive Peter Kenyon have claimed there was no deal in the offing for the Londoner, who celebrated his 28th birthday last Friday. But this still did not stop the pundits insisting Beckham would leave, citing his emotional acknowledgement to all sides of the ground after his two-goal appearance as a substitute in the recent 4-3 thriller with Real and his impromptu Old Trafford kick-about with son Brooklyn following Saturday’s 4-1 win over Charlton as signals he was set to leave.

Beckham will collect his ninth major medal with United after their final game with Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, but even in triumph, the critics believed his failure to attend the players’ end of season party in Manchester on Sunday was a key sign he was not going to be around much longer, despite the fact that skipper Roy Keane, striker Old Gunnar Solskjaer and Beckham’s international colleague Paul Scholes were not there either.

However, he was at United’s Carrington training ground yesterday for the staged celebratory pictures and, like Keane, believes the team spirit within the club just now is better than it has ever been.

Having put the rumours about his future to an end, he is now hoping to enjoy his latest success.

“The whole team is buzzing,” he said. “I think we are all still on a high because the scale of our achievements is only now sinking in.

“People had written us off before Christmas and that makes our success even sweeter this time. It has been a tough battle for all of us because we have had to be so focused on our aim to win the league by winning every game and not to worry or get distracted by the opposition.

“It’s been an amazing season for the club and I have never known the team spirit to be as good as it is today.

“The supporters have been fantastic as always and it’s great to reward them with the title.”

Beckham was also named yesterday as the highest paid player in Europe. France Football magazine puts his earnings at €15m a year, one million more than Real Madrid's French star Zinedine Zidane.

Brazil World Cup star Ronaldo, also of Real Madrid, was said to be on €11.7m a year.

The magazine calculated earnings from salaries, bonuses, endorsements and image rights.

It estimated Beckham was paid €6.6 million in salary and €8.4 million in endorsements.

Beckham's off-field earnings made the difference with Zidane, who cost Real a world record €72.1 million when they bought the French star from Juventus in 2001.