That’s a Joly big deal for Beckham

DAVID Beckham was the talk of France yesterday following reports that the former England captain is about to sign for Paris Saint-Germain.

While there has been no official confirmation of a deal being reached, the headlines on the front and back pages of the country’s newspapers made it sound like a sure thing: “Le Voila!” (He’s Here!) exclaimed L’Equipe, while Le Parisien stated “Il a dit Oui!” (He said Yes!).

Having gone from Madrid to Hollywood – with brief stints in Milan – Paris does seem the perfect place for an icon of both football and fashion to end his career. It has been claimed that 36-year-old Beckham will earn e800,000 (£665,000) per month over 18 months at PSG.

Talk of Beckham’s contract even reached parliament yesterday, with Eva Joly, a French presidential candidate from the environmentalist party, calling such a lucrative deal “shocking”. And, according to French sports daily L’Equipe, PSG plan to give Beckham the regal treatment normally reserved for a foreign politician when he arrives, with a news conference planned at Paris’ City Hall followed by a trip to the Champs-Elysees, where PSG’s main store is conveniently located.