MADRID: David Beckham, discarded by England, insisted Monday he was going nowhere and intended to stay with Real Madrid despite spending much of this season on the bench.
"I am not considering any possibility of a transfer at the moment, my family and I are very happy in Madrid," said Beckham, whose contract runs to September 30.
"I want to stay with Real Madrid because I believe in the (club) project and respect the coach," added Beckham, who insisted he believed the side could win silverware this season after a three-year barren spell which has marred his time at the club since his July 2003 transfer from Manchester United.
He added he did not want to leave through the "back door," but fight to convince coach Fabio Capello of his worth.
However, since Capello's summer arrival from Juventus, Beckham has been reduced to virtually a fringe player and played barely 13 minutes of the league win over arch rivals Barcelona earlier this month.
The blossoming of Brazilian Robinho and the good form of Guti in midfield have limited his opportunities.
On Monday, Marca sports daily added to the speculation on Beckham's future with the headline: "Beckham - what are you going to do?"
The issue of Beckham possibly extending his contract has been floating around the club since the start of the season but Marca said that the veteran, discarded by England after the World Cup, had put off the decision to ascertain if he featured in Capello's plans.
"Beckham does not want to stay on in Madrid as a spectator," Marca noted.
But the 31-year-old said he had the support of the club hierarchy to stay put.
"Since the president Ramon Calderon has come in, he has made his feelings clear to me and he says he wants me to stay.
"There hasn't been a proposal yet. There have been talks with my representatives.
"Contract talks have been going on since last season but there have been a lot of changes at the club, and they only started up again three weeks ago.
"I am not leaving. I am not going anywhere," he said adamantly.
(China Daily 11/01/2006 page15)
