Beckham departure to cost Real Madrid £30M

Losing David Beckham will cost Real Madrid a staggering £30 million-a-year, it has been revealed.

A study carried out by Spanish Uni professors Francesc Pujol and Pedro Garcia says after June 30, when Real's 50 per cent image rights deal with Beckham expires, a huge £30 million hole will appear in the club's finances.

Not only the drop in merchandise sales will hit Real, but also the loss of Beckham's 'X-factor'. The study says "the economic contribution of Beckham goes far beyond the direct income generated by the share of his image rights?. The report goes on, "football has gradually moved towards the entertainment industry, where the main source of income comes from the intangibles of sport - the quality, the spectacle, the glamour - that allows clubs to position themselves as being attractive to paying fans".