the extra value that David Beckham provides as ‘the most
recognised footballer in the world’
"The contract we have this summer in America is not to take
the one or two people but the whole team. From that point of
view David is just as valuable as any of the other players.
On the other hand, we accept he is the most recognised
footballer in the world, perhaps the most recognised person.
So, yes, he is important to us. And that's the reason we're
going to keep him."
However he went on to say that players only play for United
if they are good enough:
"The decision on which players we have is taken on the basis
of them playing football. Sir Alex is key to that. The
manager has made his statement on that side of things. He
picks a team for every game on the basis that he thinks
those are the players who will win it.”
Kenyon doesn’t think that there is a problem between Fergie
and Beckham:
"There's nothing that suggests to me that there's any
problem with their relationship. Alex has had him since he
was a boy and knows what he's like. He's very protective of
his players. That applies to all of them. All the
speculation about David's future has reached new heights
lately because he's had a phenomenal season, but this had
almost been overshadowing everything we've achieved.”