Beckham Subjected to Bitter Attack From Real

Real Madrid's president, Ramón Calderón, last night launched a bitter attack on David Beckham as the Englishman's final six months in Spain look set to descend into acrimony and recrimination. Beckham would like to negotiate an early departure from Madrid but that may prove difficult after the MLS commissioner Don Garber admitted LA Galaxy will struggle to find the money necessary to buy him out of his current contract.

If he is forced to stay, he will have little choice but to sit and suffer as a Bernabéu outcast - and, even if he succeeds in joining the LA Galaxy in time for the start of the MLS season in April, his departure will be wrought with bitterness. Not only has the coach Fabio Capello insisted Beckham will never play for the club again, but Calderón has now accused him of leading the club on.

"Beckham's representatives have toyed with us for the last two months. Whenever his representatives met Predrag Mijatovic they never informed him or the club that he had agreed a contract with another club," Calderón said. "They never told us that Beckham had made his decision, that he had bought a house in Los Angeles. I don't feel that it's right and I certainly don't like it.

"I can understand Capello's decision to leave Beckham out of the first team. The player has his mind somewhere else. It's sad because considering Beckham's time at Madrid, he deserved a better ending at the club than this one. It was not right to see him announcing his departure on a video conference to the United States."

An early departure would be ideal for both Beckham and Madrid but Beckham's camp yesterday insisted the midfielder would continue showing up for training while they await an explanation from the club. Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber insisted the American league would do "everything they can" to secure an early departure but conceded that LA Galaxy probably cannot afford to buy out the remainder of his contract.

Garber claimed Beckham's lawyers are working to arrange an early release from Madrid but the midfielder's camp insists that they are content to await developments. With the MLS season not starting until April the former England captain is in no hurry to accept a quick resolution on the wrong terms.

Beckham's camp believes Madrid are doing themselves more harm than good with their aggressive stance. When Madrid bought Beckham in 2003 they wanted to use him to project their image round the world; now his representatives believe the image Madrid are projecting is one of a petty club wilfully dragging its own name through the mud. While negotiations would appear to be inevitable to resolve a situation that benefits nobody, the bitterness on both sides makes reaching a resolution complicated. Madrid feel conned by Beckham, while Beckham remains furious that Fabio Capello sought to make such a public scapegoat of him.