Beckham to reject offer of farewell

DAVID BECKHAM will reject any offer from Fabio Capello of a farewell England appearance in the conviction he still has a role to play with the national side in their bid to qualify for Euro 2012.

The England manager said ahead of Wednesday’s friendly victory over Hungary that he deems the 35-year-old too old to figure in his plans as England attempt to reach the next European Championship finals. When asked about Beckham’s future as an international player after the 2-1 win the Italian suggested the former captain would be granted an appearance in a friendly at Wembley “to say bye bye and thank you very much”, but would play no further competitive matches.

That news came as a surprise to Beckham and his representatives, who had been made aware of Capello’s initial comments – delivered in a television interview conducted on Monday but broadcast 48 hours later – in a call from the England general manager, Franco Baldini, earlier in the week.

The message then had been that, while the time had come to blood new talent, Beckham would remain under consideration if he proved his form and fitness once he had recovered from the Achilles tendon injury which ruled him out of the World Cup.

Beckham, who returned to light training with Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday, had accepted that and is adamant he would only wish to be selected on merit. He is reluctant to feature in what would amount to a ceremonial 116th cap, most likely against France on November 17th. That notion was never mooted in the conversation with Baldini.

Beckham had been encouraged by Capello’s proclamation in March, after he had undergone surgery, that: “We hope David will be fit for the next year, for the Euros qualifying. He’s always one of the best players in England.” That assessment has clearly changed in the wake of the team’s serious failings at the World Cup finals, with Capello now deciding the time has come to move on.

“For me, David is a fantastic man and a fantastic player,” the Italian said. “My relationship with him is really good. I am sure 100 per cent he will play the next friendly game here if he is fit.”

The confusion surrounding Capello’s clumsy announcement, and his failure to warn one of the most decorated players in England’s history that his international career was over, is the latest in a line of breakdowns in communication to blight the national set-up. The initial remark made to ITV at the end of their interview on Monday – “Thank you (Beckham) for helping me during the World Cup, but probably (he is) a little bit old” – came as a throwaway line, with Capello clearly having underestimated the level of reaction it would generate.

While Baldini relayed the message to Beckham in Los Angeles, his success in contacting the player’s representatives was apparently not relayed to Capello, who claimed: “We tried to speak with him but we haven’t managed to” after the Hungary match. There were suggestions last night Capello’s offer to grant Beckham one last chance to play at Wembley – albeit in a friendly – was a hurriedly delivered recognition that he had misjudged the mood as his comments were publicly dissected.

Elsewhere, no firm bids to buy Liverpool are expected to be made today, the self-imposed deadline by which the club’s chairman, Martin Broughton, said he hoped to receive solid offers.

Yahya Kirdi, the Syrian businessman based in Canada, continues to express interest but if, as has been claimed, his financial backers are members of the ruling family of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, any bid from him is certain to be delayed. On Wednesday the family announced the death at 95 of Sheikha Maryam al-Shamsi, the mother of Sharjah’s ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qassimi. All members of the family will observe seven days mourning and no business will be conducted.

The Hong Kong-based businessman Kenneth Huang said yesterday his consortium “have confirmed with Liverpool’s board that we are interested in bidding” but he has not translated that into a detailed proposal with the proof that the money is there, which Broughton has asked for.

Sources close to the process confirmed no firm offers, with the required proof of funds, have been received, and it is not thought likely any will be delivered today. That means Liverpool’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, will pay another €3.1 million, the penalty fee they are being charged by the Royal Bank of Scotland for every week the club is not sold.

Imposed on Hicks’s and Gillett’s Liverpool holding company, Kop, as part of the refinancing last April of €288 million in loans from RBS, the €3.1 million penalties will, according to sources, amount to an additional €73 million if the club is not sold by October 6th, when the loan expires. That would mean RBS will have made more than €244 million in interest and fees since it loaned the pair €225 million to buy Liverpool in February 2007.

GuardianService