David Beckham

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez's surprise resignation was sad said England captain David Beckham.

Beckham, who was speaking ahead of England's friendly with Uruguay, did pledge his future to 'the meringues' but paid hommage to Perez, who was responsible for bringing players like himself Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo to the club.

"No not atall," Beckham said in response to a question about if it would affect his future at Madrid.

"It was a surprise, I only heard late last night.

"I would like to thank Florentino for having given me the chance to play for such a great club.

"He's very intelligent. I have only good memories. He has to be congratulated on bringing such great players to the club.

"Obviously I don't know what is going to happen.

"However the club has already said they want me to stay. I am happy there and would like to stay there," added Beckham, who has had an up and down career with Madrid since he left Manchester United.

Perez resigned after an extraordinary meeting of the board on Monday which confirmed Perez would go and that Fernando Martin, a club vice-president, would take over the hot seat.

"Real Madrid needs change and this is the right moment for me to leave the presidency," Perez said at a press conference. "I am convinced this is the boost the club needs."

His resignation comes after a poor week for the club in losing 2-1 at Real Mallorca on Sunday and then 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Champions League the previous Tuesday.

He arrived at the helm of the club in July 2000 and heralded the "galactico" era.

Perez added: "There is no crisis at the club. The financial and sporting set-up at the club is good and we are happy at what we have done here in the last six years."

He added he had made his decision on Sunday following the Mallorca defeat saying he suddenly had the conviction that change was needed.

"It was a gesture of loyalty for the good of the club," Perez continued.

During Perez's reign, Madrid won the Spanish league and Spanish Super Cup double in both 2001 and 2003, with a superb 2002 sandwiched in between when Madrid won the Champions League, the European Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.

His successor Martin is like Perez 58-years-old and is one of the largest property developers in Spain.

He is one of Perez' closest friends and arrived with him at the club in 2000.

"I wish him all the luck in the world for this wonderful challenge," Perez said of Martin.
News.Yahoo

Real Madrid Becomes World's Richest

Real Madrid has knocked off Manchester United as the world's richest soccer club. Madrid overtook the Red Devils for the first time at the top of the "Football Money League," an independent report released Thursday by the Deloitte accounting firm.

United had been ranked No. 1 since the report began nine seasons ago. Deloitte only uses revenue as its ranking and not the wealth of individual club owners.

Real Madrid increased its revenue by 17 percent to $328 million for the 2004-05 season despite going a second straight year without a major trophy. United earned $293 million in the same period.

AC Milan was third with $279 million, followed by Italian champion Juventus with $273 million and English champion Chelsea at $263 million.

"The mainstay of Real's revenue growth is not match-day revenues, as we have seen in many of the UK clubs, or broadcasting revenue, as we have seen — and continue to see — in Italy, but strong progress in realizing their commercial potential," the report said.

Madrid's revenue doubled in four years despite increasingly poor performances. It was second in last year's Spanish league and was eliminated from the Champions League at the first knockout stage.

Commercial revenue including sponsorship, merchandising and licensing contributed 45 percent of Madrid's total income. Madrid made $62 million more in commercial revenue than Manchester United and $74 million more than FC Barcelona.

Manchester United's revenue fell because of a reduction in broadcast income, partly because of its exit from the Champions League at the first knockout round. However, Deloitte said United was one of "the foremost brands in the industry and are still clearly the most profitable club in terms of day to day operations."

Three clubs dropped out of last year's top 20 — Marseille, Aston Villa and Rangers — and were replaced by Everton, Lyon and Valencia. Only 13 clubs have appeared in all nine editions of the report: Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter, Juventus, Lazio, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester United, AC Milan, AS Roma, Newcastle and Tottenham.

AS Roma Ties Record but Loses Captain

AS Roma beat lowly Empoli 1-0 on a first-half goal by Simone Perrotta on Sunday, equaling a Serie A record of 10 straight wins in a match in which captain Francesco Totti injured his leg and was expected to miss 2-3 months.

The 29-year-old Roma playmaker should recover in time to play for Italy at the June 9-July 9 World Cup in Germany.

"He's a very important player for the national team," Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. "It would be a pity not to have him in the World Cup. We will be waiting for him and will do everything possible to recover him in time."

Totti twisted his left ankle following a rough tackle in the 12th minute and was carried from the field on a stretcher at Stadio Olimpico. Initial reports from club officials said he has a fractured fibula and strained ankle ligaments.

Roma equaled the record set by Juventus in 1932 — and later matched by AC Milan and Bologna — on Perotta's 16th-minute goal.

Fourth-place Roma trails league leader Juventus by 16 points but is within four points of third-place Inter Milan.

In Sunday's other games, Siena upset Udinese 2-1 on the road on two goals by 19-year-old striker Rey Volpato; Sampdoria stumbled 2-1 at home against Ascoli; Lecce and Reggina tied 0-0; Parma won 1-0 at Treviso to escape the relegation zone; and Chievo Verona held seventh place following a 0-0 tie with Palermo

The Latest Seria A Player Transfer

Player From To Status
M. Lauro Reggina Ascoli Confirmed
I. Budan Atalanta Ascoli Confirmed
M. Gasparetto Empoli Mantova Confirmed
R. Bonetto Empoli Ascoli Confirmed
D. Florian Treviso Sanremese Confirmed
L. Choutos Inter Reggina Confirmed
L. Choutos Mallorca Inter Confirmed
R. Schiavi Lecce Brescia Confirmed
A. De Almeida Lecce Crotone Confirmed
K. Saidi Feyenoord Lecce Confirmed

Goal

Superb Premiership Match

Blackburn Beats Manchester United 4-3
David Bentley scored three goals, helping Blackburn Rovers and American goalkeeper Brad Friedel defeat Manchester United 4-3 Wednesday in England's Premier League.

Inter Milan Win

Inter Milan 1 Lazio 0
Inter Advances to Italian Cup Semifinals

Internazionale of Milan beat Lazio 1-0 Thursday night and became the only of Italy's three big clubs to reach the semifinals of the Italian Cup.

Ex-Lazio midfielder Dejan Stankovic scored in the 37th minute, and Inter won the home-and-home, total-goals series 2-1.

Inter advanced to a semifinal on March 22 and April 12 against Udinese, which eliminated Sampdoria on Wednesday. Palermo plays AS Roma in the other semifinal.

Palermo eliminated AC Milan, and Juventus was ousted by AS Roma.

Inter Milan Win

Inter Milan 1 Lazio 0
Inter Advances to Italian Cup Semifinals

Internazionale of Milan beat Lazio 1-0 Thursday night and became the only of Italy's three big clubs to reach the semifinals of the Italian Cup.

Ex-Lazio midfielder Dejan Stankovic scored in the 37th minute, and Inter won the home-and-home, total-goals series 2-1.

Inter advanced to a semifinal on March 22 and April 12 against Udinese, which eliminated Sampdoria on Wednesday. Palermo plays AS Roma in the other semifinal.

Palermo eliminated AC Milan, and Juventus was ousted by AS Roma.

Year of Soccer

This year, 2006 is a soccer year. This year the greates football party will appear in Germany.
Many country and many players in the world join it.
Almost all people in the world will watching it.
Brazil is the champion in last World Cup, the question is who is the winner in Germany World CUP 2006 ?