United chief Kenyon insists Beckham will stay put

Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon insisted on Monday that England captain David Beckham would remain at the club next season after they clinched their 15th English League title at the weekend.

Beckham scored the first goal in United's 4-1 win over Charlton, which secured their eighth premier league crown in 11 seasons after defending champions Arsenal were beaten on Sunday.

He was shown by television cameras at the end of Saturday's match at Old Trafford looking apparently disconsolate and emotional as he waved to home fans.

Pundits on a leading television highlights programme even attempted to read his lips as he spoke to fellow international Gary Neville in the after-match celebrations and suggested he was saying: "I've had talks."

A welter of newspaper headlines followed on Monday in the British press linking him again with a big money move to European champions Real Madrid but Kenyon reiterated earlier denials from both clubs that the transfer was imminent.

"I'm sure he will be with us next season," Kenyon told BBC Radio Five. "All this speculation has overshadowed the last few weeks and that has been unfortunate."

"All the concentration has been on that when the people involved in that process have declined to comment or have said there is nothing going on."

Last week Real Madrid, who knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals, also issued a formal denial of interest in the player who has one of the highest marketing values in the world game.