6.1.03 Soccernet.com
Antic Dismisses Becks Rumors
Barcelona coach Raddy Antic does not believe reports that the club will sign England captain David Beckham.
Barca are preparing to elect a new club president and, although candidate Joan Laporta suggested he could snap up Beckham from Manchester United, he has only a slim chance of winning the most votes of Barca's 100,000 members, with Lluis Bassat the clear favourite.
It is the silly season in the Catalonian city, with the wealthy aspirants to the club's top job suggesting they will splash out to land the likes of Beckham, if elected to the presidency.
Beckham's club-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy and even Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, have also been mentioned as targets of other candidates.
Antic will learn whether he still has a definite future at Barca following the June 15 elections, as he is currently in the job on a caretaker basis only.
And he does not expect to be given an open cheque-book, regardless of who is chosen to succeed Joan Gaspart at the helm.
'So far they are rumours and nothing else,' Antic said, dismissing suggestions any of the trio are bound for the Nou Camp.
'Until we see all of these here, I am not going to believe anything.'
It had been reported a £30million deal for Beckham is all but done, with negotiations between the clubs at an advanced stage.
But Antic has not been involved in any talks and insists he would need to be consulted, at the very least, before Barca could delve into the transfer market.
'Football isn't like El Corte Ingles [a Spanish supermarket chain], where you go and sign who you like,' he told the El Mundo Deportivo newspaper.
'Nobody knows better than coaches what the teams need and what is possible in the market.'
Antic has been given a conditional one-year contract to stay at Barca, though it must be agreed to by the new president.
Among the players most directly at threat, should Beckham join Barca, ahead of Real Madrid and a host of Italian teams who are supposedly interested, would be Marc Overmars.
Like Antic, Overmars believes talk of signing the England captain is based on electioneering propaganda.
He also dismisses suggestions that fellow Dutchman van Nistelrooy might be tempted to leave Old Trafford after only two seasons with Premiership champions United.
'Ruud is going to spend one or two more seasons at United and I do not believe Beckham is coming to Barca,' said former Arsenal winger Overmars.
'All the candidates say that they will bring in three players.
'If they do so, with those already at the club and those coming in, we would be able to make two teams.'
European champions AC Milan also ruled out a move for Beckham, saying he was too expensive.
Club vice-president Adriano Galliani, in day-to-day control of the club owned by Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said: 'It would be impossible for us to move for him for such a high figure.'