Ambitious Wigan fancy crack at Real Madrid's Beckham

Ambitious Wigan Athletic have expressed interest in Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham.

Beckham is considering a return to England next season when Wigan will be in the Premiership as likely Championship champions.

"I don't think we'd be able to afford him," Dave Whelan, Wigan's chairman and owner, told the Telegraph.

"But anything that puts Wigan in the public eye is a good idea. There's no such thing as bad publicity."

Maurice Lindsay, chairman of the rugby league's Wigan Warriors, who share the JJB Stadium with the football club, also said: "We're not all cloth caps and whippets, you know."

"And we're big admirers of David up here. Although he's got iconic status and all the bling, we appreciate that he's a great, great athlete with a tremendous engine."