Milan's Berlusconi backs away from Beckham bid
( 2003-06-10 09:33 ) (7 )

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AC Milan president, Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, has poured cold water on reports that his club might sign England captain David Beckham from Manchester United.

"There are many better ways of spending money that has been earned with many sacrifices other than hiring Mr Beckham," Berlusconi told a news conference in Jerusalem.

Berlusconi was in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Last week Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani, who effectively runs the club on behalf of Berlusconi, said that while "intrigued" by Beckham a deal would be too expensive for the club.

Speculation over the player's future has intensified since United said on Saturday that Italian and Spanish clubs had expressed a "firm interest" in signing Beckham.

Spain's Real Madrid and Barcelona and Milan's city rivals Inter have all been linked with a move for the midfielder.

OPTIONS SHRINKING

But the range of options for Beckham appear to be shrinking and Berlusconi's comments follow scepticism about Barca's ability to finance a move.

Joan Laporta, a candidate for the presidency of the Catalan club, has said that he has been in talks to buy Beckham but on Sunday Lluis Bassat, the front runner in the election campaign, cast doubt on the chance of a bid.

"AC Milan have said they cannot afford to pay for him and they are in a much better financial situation than us," said Bassat.

"Mr Laporta needs to explain how he is going to manage to do all that he has promised."

Interest from Real has cooled since their defeat to Juventus in the Champions League semi-finals left many suggesting they would be better looking for a top class defender.

Milan's change of tone over Beckham comes after Italy international Francesco Totti said on Saturday that he could quit AS Roma if the club did not make some major signings in the close season.

Totti indicated that Milan would be his most likely destination should he leave Roma -- such a move would likely kill any chance of Beckham joining Carlo Ancelotti's side.

Media reports have suggested Beckham would be avaliable for a transfer fee of around 30 million euros ($35.13 million).