REPRESENTATIVES FOR David Beckham have denied any contact with Football Federation Australia over a potential move to the A-League.
Speculation arose on Friday that former England captain and Manchester United midfielder Beckham, 37, could be on his way to Australia.
The news prompted FFA to issue a statement, claiming contact had been initiated by an agent representing Beckham, who has been a Los Angeles Galaxy player since 2007.
“The approach from David Beckham’s people is another sign of how much the Hyundai A-League has grown in stature on a global basis,” FFA said in the statement.
“Beckham is superstar on the world stage and he would be another massive signing for the Hyundai A-League after the arrivals of Alessandro Del Piero, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono.”
But a Beckham spokesman said the superstar had no intention of playing in Australia.
“There is always interest from clubs across the world in signing David as a player,” the spokesman said. ”However, there are absolutely no plans to play in Australia. David is completely focused on the MLS playoffs and winning another championship with the Galaxy.”
Despite the denial, FFA chief executive David Gallop told Fox Sports that he was hopeful of luring Beckham to the A-League.
“I spoke to the player’s agent today and said to him that it would be fantastic,” Gallop said. ”But there are some hoops that would have to be jumped through.
“The league doesn’t employ players, so the clubs need to come forward and be the first point of contact. The league can certainly assist in some respects, but I think what we’re talking about at this stage is a guest stint, from the transfer window opening in mid-January, for 10 games.
“It would be fantastic, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves at this point.”
Fox Sports presenter Mel Mclaughlin claimed Perth Glory and Melbourne Heart had already tabled official offers in a bid to secure Beckham’s signature. But in a further twist again, Heart CEO Scott Munn tweeted in response: “Not sure who from Heart. But we certainly haven’t tabled any offer.”
A title winner at Real Madrid and AC Milan, Beckham has played in Australia on three occasions and after his last match – against Melbourne Victory in December 2011 — did not rule out the possibility of playing in the A-League at some stage in his career. Beckham is likely to field questions on his future when he fronts the press at a Galaxy training session today.
