United to set up Beckham Internet site for merchandise

Manchester United is to create its own specialised David Beckham Internet site to support merchandise for the England star.

An analysis of figures from United's merchandising machine over the past two years revealed that Beckham accounted for £13.8 million in merchandising in 1997 to 1998. This makes the 24 year old midfielder the highest earner among United's squad players for merchandising products.

The new site will sell the Beckham range as the player and his agents start a summer of negotiations with the club to arrange a new contract. United announced a £12 million rise in profits this week with chairman Sir Martin Edwards telling reporters that Beckham would not be sold despite recent interest from Inter, FC Barcelona and Arsenal.

Press reports in England have claimed that United intend at some point to sell of its internet assets in a share flotation to boost the club's revenue even further. The United plc shares went through the £1 billion barrier two weeks ago as the team make progress in its defence of the European Cup.

A successful Beckham merchandising site could prompt moves to a flotation of the club's Internet assets but no quick moves in this direction are likely until the renegotiation of Premiership television rights next year. Those rights could see £2 billion bids come in from media companies keen to share in the football bonanza. Edwards and the other chairmen will meet on Monday to discuss the initial plans for the television rights negotiations with the various bidders when they finally launch their offers.