United welcome Real crushing of Beckham speculation

Manchester United welcomed a move by Real Madrid to crush speculation that they were planning a summer swoop for David Beckham and insisted they had never contemplated selling the England captain.

Rumours Beckham could be on his way to Spain have been circulating for months and reached a crescendo when he was left on the bench for last week's second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between the two clubs.

Real were reportedly keen on Beckham because his iconic status in Asia could help lift their profile in the fastest growing market for footballing merchandise.

But the Spanish giants moved on Tuesday to end the speculation by issuing a statement on their website denying any bid was imminent.

Club president Florentino Perez backed up that view by telling reporters at a meeting of Europe's top clubs that he had never had any plans to bid for Beckham.

United's chief executive, Peter Kenyon, welcomed Perez's statement and insisted the club had never had any intention of letting the midfielder go.

"I am delighted Mr Perez has confirmed this in such an emphatic manner but, anyway, we at Manchester United never had any intention of selling him.

"All the speculation about David's future has reached new heights lately because he's had a phenomenal season, but this had almost been overshadowing everything we've achieved.

"David has stated himself that he doesn't want to go anywhere but we have always been reluctant to make any public statements of any sort about the make-up of our team for next season.

"I'm also assured by David's people that they don't want him to leave Manchester United. Everyone at Old Trafford will be grateful to have this confirmed in such a manner by Real Madrid."

In their statement, Real insisted that Beckham was not bound for the Bernabeu.

The statement read: "Because of information in various sections of the press on the existence of Real Madrid interest to sign David Beckham, the club would like to make clear:

"1. There is no contact between Real Madrid and Manchester United on this subject.

"2. There has been no direct or indirect contact between Real Madrid and Beckham.

"3. Contrary to the rumours on this matter, Real has no intention of negotiating the signing of Beckham.

"4. That, despite the club rule not to use official channels to deny rumours, this statement was sent out to finally put an end to the uncertainty created by certain sources in linking Beckham to Real Madrid.

"5. In spite of the rumours, there is an unconditional, friendly relationship between the two clubs and respect for Beckham."

Most observers took the combination of official statement and Perez's emphatic comments as a signal that the deal, if was ever under consideration, was now dead.