Real warn Beckham that he faces a pay cut
David Beckham's future at Real Madrid was thrown into doubt yesterday when the club's sporting director, Predrag Mijatovic, warned that the former England captain may have to take a pay cut if he is to remain at the Bernabéu.
The 31-year-old, whose current deal runs out at the end of the season, has begun the last four Real Madrid games on the bench and was dropped from the England squad after the World Cup. Both sides have expressed a desire for Beckham to remain in Spain but when Mijatovic was asked yesterday if it made sense to grant Beckham a salary increase, he responded: "Who said anything about paying him more? Maybe he will stay earning less."
The 31-year-old, whose current deal runs out at the end of the season, has begun the last four Real Madrid games on the bench and was dropped from the England squad after the World Cup. Both sides have expressed a desire for Beckham to remain in Spain but when Mijatovic was asked yesterday if it made sense to grant Beckham a salary increase, he responded: "Who said anything about paying him more? Maybe he will stay earning less."
Real Madrid presented their opening offer last Tuesday, to which Beckham's camp responded with a counter-offer. Beckham's representatives are now awaiting Madrid's response. Both sides have privately described talks as positive but at this early stage it has become clear that reaching an agreement will be a complex process, with initial differences emerging in the valuation of the former England captain.
On January 1 Beckham can begin formal negotiations with other clubs and compromise will be needed if a deal is to be sorted by then. Beckham's representatives are determined to maintain his current salary of £6m a year but they want him to receive a greater percentage of his image rights in recognition of his commercial value to the club.
When he signed in 2003 it was not yet clear how significant Beckham would be for the launching of Real Madrid as a brand. Now that Madrid have seen his commercial value first hand and enjoyed the lucrative benefits over the last three seasons Beckham's camp are keen for them to reciprocate with a deal that reflects that importance.
However Madrid believe Beckham's bargaining position and commercial value is weakened by the fact that he is 31, no longer in the England team and has spent the last four games on the bench. They are reluctant to relinquish their share of his image rights and it emerged last night that, initially at least, that they might offer him a reduced salary.
Mijatovic insisted that he thought Beckham would sign a new deal and claimed that the fact that he had been forced to sit out recently was no obstacle to him continuing at the club. "The fact he hasn't been in the starting line-up doesn't mean he's not going to be. [Manager Fabio] Capello wants to rotate his players," Mijatovic said.
Although Mijatovic's remark can in part be attributed to bravado and a desire to show that the deal will be done on Madrid's terms, it hints at the differences that exists between the two sides and reflects a growing feeling at the club that Beckham will have to compromise or face a stalemate.
That is an interpretation that Beckham's camp do not share and Mijatovic's remark has not gone down well with the Englishman's representatives, already surprised at the extent to which negotiations are being played out in public. They are also unimpressed with Ramón Calderón's announcement yesterday that the former England captain was set to retire in two years' time.
In an interview with the BBC Calderón said: "As far as I know he's decided to retire in two years. For us it would be fantastic if he could stay with us for the next two years. We need him, he is playing very well and the coach trusts him. We hope everything will be all right in the next 15, 20 days to sign a new contract."
However Calderón admitted that Beckham himself had said nothing of his retirement plans, attributing his remarks to "what people have told me", and a spokesman for the former England captain rejected the claims. "No one has ever discussed a retirement date," he said.
Simon Talbot in Madrid
Thursday October 5, 2006
The Guardian
posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 5:25 AM
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