Madrid deny any Real interest in Beckham

Real Madrid tonight officially denied any interest in signing David Beckham from Manchester United.

The England captain has been strongly linked with a move to the Bernabeu since the two clubs met in the Champions League quarter-finals.

But the Spanish club have taken the rare step of officially commenting on press reports in an attempt to quash the story.

Madrid have made a habit of buying one of the world's best players on an annual basis with Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo making tracks for the Spanish capital in successive summers.

And the move for Beckham – arguably the highest profile player in the world and the man seen as the key to unlocking the lucrative Far East markets – was touted as the next logical step.

The speculation increased dramatically after Beckham was dropped to the bench for the second leg of the quarter-final.