Real fans are 'euphoric'

Opinion tonight in Madrid on David Beckham’s signing was generally triumphant: Real had once again managed to secure the signing of a major star and in addition had done so at the expense of Barcelona, their great rivals.

But it was tinged by the sense that the England captain was perhaps more important to the club as a commercially lucrative media asset than as a player.

Headlines on the story in tomorrow’s edition of Madrid-based daily newspaper El Pais were set to include “Madrid wins the battle for Beckham” but also “The player who sells the most“.

The paper’s sports editor, Jose Miguelez, said people in the city were “surprised and euphoric“.

One piece in tomorrow’s edition celebrated the tactic of team president Florentino Perez of each year “lighting a bomb” in terms of the players he signed, with Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, and now Beckham arriving in consecutive close seasons.

“Florentino Perez maintains his unwavering position of buying a superstar each year,” Miguelez said.

He added: “All of those who play for Real Madrid do so because they want to. Beckham could have gone to Barcelona but he wanted to come to Madrid.

“This is very positive, because he is one of the best players in the world, a great reinforcement for Real Madrid.”

But Miguelez noted that these top signings had always been strikers or midfield playmakers rather than the defenders some fans would like to see shore up Madrid’s back line – although they would not bring with them the same marketing potential.

Elena Isgardo, a sports reporter on another Madrid-based daily, El Mundo, said Perez has “completed his circle of stars“.

After all the top names already brought into the team, she said, “the only superstar player left was Beckham“.

But she was slightly sceptical about the reasons for the move, saying: “People in Madrid have a bit of an impression that his signing is more about economic reasons, for his image.

“Even though people generally consider he is a great player he is not considered quite the super-classic player like Zidane or Ronaldo.”

Many also had the impression that he was dominated by his wife Victoria, and that since marrying her he had been transformed into a media star.

“After his wedding was when he started to go out with actors and actresses and stars. Before he was much more discreet,” she said.

“He started to change his looks and his image. Before, he was never photographed with Elton John, for example.”

She believed, however, that Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque would prove a more “ conciliatory” manager than Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson in accepting the player’s glamorous lifestyle outside the game.

Del Bosque had already managed to resolve reported problems Brazilian star Ronaldo had fitting in at the club when he first arrived, Isgardo said.

Fans commenting on El Mundo’s website had mixed views, and shortly after the announcement tonight a poll of more than 1,000 fans supported the move by only a slim 53% to 47% majority.

Comments posted elsewhere on the site ranged from “He is a great signing. Welcome!” to “I like his wife better” and “Good signing? I don’t know. Economically viable? Sure.”

Another commented wryly on the fantastic array of talent that had been assembled at the Benabeu stadium: “Ronaldo, Zidane, Raul, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Figo, Casillas: is this a real team or one from Fifa 2003 on the Play Station?”