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Madrid's head coach, Italian Fabio Capello, sensitively reacted to the decision of the team's star David Beckham to leave the Royal club after the season and move to play in the USA - the coach stated on Saturday that the Englishman will no longer appear on the field in "Real" jersey.
"Beckham will train with the team, but he will not play," the Italian said at a press conference. "He has always been a true professional, but when a player has such an important contract with another club, you can no longer completely rely on him. The player simply cannot dedicate himself to the team anymore when his mind is occupied with completely different things."
According to the coach, D. Beckham's decision to stay in Madrid until June "was his own, not the club's."
Asked whether the former captain of the England national team will be loaned out for the remaining six months of his contract, F. Capello responded: "Ask Beckham himself."
D. Beckham decided on Thursday not to extend his contract with "Real" and announced that he will move to Los Angeles Galaxy club in the summer when his current contract ends. The Englishman has already signed a five-year contract with the MLS league club, under which he will earn about $250 million. However, half of this amount will come from advertising.
F. Capello also spoke at the press conference about forwards, Brazilian Ronaldo and Italian Antonio Cassano, who are also linked to moves to other clubs.
On Friday, "Real" president Ramon Calderon stated that F. Capello does not consider Ronaldo a starting player and that negotiations are already underway for a possible transfer of the forward.
"Ronaldo is currently injured. The club is negotiating with him, nothing more. He is still a 'Real' player," said the coach from Italy. "And Cassano is not included in my plans."
The latter player stirred up the displeasure of the head coach when a Spanish television station showed the forward mocking F. Capello with his teammates.
"Real," which is in third place in the Spanish championship, will face "Zaragoza" one position below them at home on Sunday. Neither D. Beckham, nor A. Cassano, nor Ronaldo were included in the team's application for the match.
