I honestly thought, now that David Beckham is virtually a Real Madrid player, the story might go away or at least take a siesta until July when the England captain will be unveiled at the Bernabeu, but it is not to be.
While the saga of Barca/Real/AC dragged on, every man and his dog, yours truly included, ventured to suggest the reasons why he should chose one particular club over another but it was also an intriguing sub-plot that many pundits, Johan Cruyff to name but one, claimed that Beckham would struggle to get a place in the Real team whereas he would be guaranteed a starting place at the Nou Camp.
To suggest that the England captain would not have the ability to gain a place in any team not only does his considerable abilities an injustice but also casts aspersions at the capabilities of the club, that has signed him, to gauge a footballer's worth, and remember this is the club that has several World Cup winners in its ranks, plus the odd World Player of the Year.
I have read many column inches and heard numerous sound bites by pundits claiming that Beckham would struggle to adapt his game to the Spanish League. He is so used to the bustle of 100mph Premiership football that the more sedate style of La Liga won't suit him, they claim. But I venture to suggest that the opposite might well be the case.
Whilst Spanish football is almost the complete antithesis of the Premier League the fact that Becks has been able to perform to a high level, at that high level, should ensure that the extra time he will get in Spain will be most productive. Besides, everyone this side of Alpha Centauri, knows that Beckham can turn a game in an instant with an incisive pass, and when you have the likes of Ronaldo, Raul, Morientes etc available to latch on to those passes, the Madrid fans must be salivating at the mere thought.
And what about those free-kicks? I read somewhere that Roberto Carlos has suggested he may 'let David Beckham take some free-kicks, but not all of them'. Now far be it from me to cast doubts on the Brazilian's superb ability from set-pieces but it would be interesting to compare, like for like, the success rate from free-kicks, goals per kicks taken, of Beckham and Carlos.
No-one yet knows yet how Real will employ Beckham, although there is more than a passing chance (pun intended) that he will find himself at the heart of the team, in central midfield, where he prefers the involvement to isolation on the flanks. Besides, if he does employ that concept that is alien to domestic football, mobility, and he drifts out to the right we know what Beckham is capable of when it comes to crossing the ball.
As for spending time on the Real bench, the resting of the Beckham bottom on a bench is something that David has experienced at OT so he will certainly not worry if that happens in Spain. Besides, Tord Grip put any such occurrence into perspective when he said that if the England captain does sit out games or portions of them it means he will be getting a rest and that can only be of benefit to the player and his country's national side.
On the subject of rest it, has probably slipped notation by folk who have been more interested in the friction between Mr and Mrs Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson that David Beckham will be able to enjoy a winter break as a Real Madrid player. So, while his former teammates, and opponents alike, are playing three games in five days over Christmas, David will be opening his pressies, with Victoria, Brooklyn and Romeo, under the tree and not dashing out for Xmas training before taking the team coach to distant outposts of the Premier League.
All in all, I think that David Beckham, England and probably Real Madrid too, are the likely winners in this particular transfer. It remains to be seen how much a loser Manchester United will be without him.
I for one wish David Beckham all the luck in the world. He gave Manchester United 15 years of unequalled service and those who have been quoted as saying he will be forgotten very quickly may rue those words.
