Selling Becks is right, says financial expert
Rumours abound that the European champions are lining up a whopping bid for Beckham, somewhere in the region of £38million, to complete their set of the world's five best players.
He may be United's leading light, captain of his country and one of the most marketable men in world sport, but according to financial experts, the loss of Beckham would hardly register on the Richter Scale in the corridors of power at Old Trafford.
"In the short term you think it could be well worth cashing in on Beckham now," said Henk Potts, equity strategist for Barclays.
"He is at the top of his game, at the peak of his value and, in a market that has been collapsing aggressively, Beckham is one of the few players who can command top dollar."
That 'top dollar' would represent a cool profit for United, who lured Beckham as a youngster and developed him through their renowned youth programme.
But the key question is whether the short-term profit of a sale would be outweighed by the negative impact of losing Beckham as the figurehead of United's marketing potential.
The fevered reception he received throughout last year's World Cup in Japan was indicative of the 27-year-old's enormous pulling power that free-kick against Real Madrid will have been cheered by 53 million fans from Salford to Singapore.
He is a truly world star, but one at the peak of his value.
"It is a very tough call for Manchester United," Potts said. "You have an asset worth as much as it is ever going to be but it is whether they think the brand value over the next couple of years is going to be more important than cashing in now."
The answer most probably lies in whether the United marketing machine has the strength to thrive, as they have in the past, without Beckham. In essence, who drives United's success in the Far East the club or the player?
John Moore, assistant director of financial advisors Bell Lawrie White, says it is United and drew comparisons with how they replaced one iconic figure in Eric Cantona, with another.
"Let's face it, if you are going to be in receipt of approximately £38million of profit, then I would be almost certain they wouldn't lose that in revenue over the next five or six years," he said.
"If it happens, it's not going to be the end of the world for United. I think people underestimate their marketing team. The reason Beckham is so big over in Asia is because United have made everything, taken advantage of partnerships like Vodafone to create a top-selling brand.
That brand still exists and it would just be a question of getting someone else to fill the boots.
"I don't think that would be a problem they have always had stars. They have always been a club that has attracted stars and as a result a club that has attracted a strong fanbase."
But how much of Beckham's deification in the Far East is down to his United links and how much is the celebrity X-factor setting him apart from Real's, other leading football icons in Ronaldo, Raul, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane?
Real's overseas fanbase is in Latin America but Potts believes the acquisition of Beckham and the pop-star trappings he brings would give the 'Merengues' an opening in the lucrative Far East market.
After all, Beckham has struck many multi-million pound sponsorship deals quite separate from United.
"When you buy Beckham, you are not just buying his football talents, you are buying his ability to generate merchandising sales, ticket sales, TV interest the key economic drivers behind football clubs," Potts said.
"His deals are worth more than anyone's, way above what almost anyone else can get in sport. He is the top asset you can get in terms of advertising.
"The reality is that, wherever he goes he will be a huge brand. Real are nowhere near as strong as United in Asia, which may be one of the reasons they want to bring him on board. That would be one of their key considerations.
"Real are almost getting a monopoly on the world's greatest stars so they are almost looking for some type of global domination that will turn their brand into a global dominant force. Beckham would be a very powerful addition to that."
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