Perfect marriage of convenience for all

Attractive to sponsors and fans the football world over, Beckham was named the greatest pop culture icon by a music TV channel last year.

He is one of the few players who could put Chelsea on the map in the way Abramovich craves.

Beckham earns about £15million a year from personal associations with 12 companies and his commercial standing has not been affected by the recent negative publicity.

There is nobody in the game who has the same effect on replica shirt sales, but his value to a club is worth much more and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon knows that better than anyone.

He worked with Beckham at Manchester United and used him to spearhead a marketing campaign that helped make the club the biggest football brand in the world.

Charged with replicating the exercise at Chelsea, Kenyon would be glad to have a player of his profile. He believes he has a twoyear-window in which to catch up his old club and overtake Arsenal as they both face a period of transition. United's future is still tied to Sir Alex Ferguson and his eventual departure could leave them vulnerable. They are also subject to takeover speculation and the limitations of being a plc.

Arsenal will not be able to fulfil their commercial potential for at least two years, until they move into a new stadium at Ashburton Grove.

In the meantime, Kenyon feels he needs to make rapid progress. A new global brand sponsor for the club when their deal with Emirates expires next year would be progress and Beckham would be a big draw.

CHELSEA still lack a standout hero in the mould of the Real Madrid superstar, Thierry Henry or Michael Owen despite the huge outlay on players by Abramovich.

With possible changes looming at Stamford Bridge this summer on and off the pitch, Chelsea will be in a position to make room for Beckham in their crowded midfield as well in their commercial department.

He would certainly be useful to have on board in time for the summer tournament in the United States that Chelsea are taking part in, a country where not even United have managed to secure a strong foothold.

A handy tool for securing Beckham could be his relationship with Kenyon. Unlike the midfielder's friendship with Ferguson, it has survived his bitter transfer to Real.

But the role of the midfielder's wife Victoria is likely to be central. Chelsea would not be monitoring his availability so closely if problems in his personal life had not unsettled him. His move to Spain appears to have been hampered by the strain it has put on his family life. Rumours that there were cracks in his marriage and doubts about his long-term future at Real surfaced long before the latest allegations of affairs.

Preceding them were private claims from Victoria that her husband would be returning to a London club shortly and Chelsea, rather than Arsenal, are ready with the money to buy him.

Her influence, particularly after the recent storm, cannot be underestimated. She played a key role in Beckham dumping his management company SFX and "father figure" Tony Stephens last December.

Her dream of "Team Beckham" is also fading as fast as her singing career but the idea - and possibly Victoria's all-important celebrity rating - could be revived if the couple were back in England full time.

However, there is a mistress who could scupper this perfect marriage of the Beckhams and Chelsea: Real Madrid.

The reasons they paid £24m for the star last summer are still valid. Real too want to rival United for commercial power in emerging markets such as Japan, China and the US and Beckham is key.

By last November he had sold one million white shirts with his No23 on the back, compared to 700,000 for the rest of the team combined.

Ronaldo only sold half as many when he joined and with a retail price of nearly £55 each, the financial implications are clear. Up to 20 per cent of Real's commercial income is thought to be due to Beckham's presence in the squad.

They would be loath to give up such a valuable asset, particularly with the contract of main sponsors Siemens due for renewal next year.

It is thought the £23.7m three-year deal could double in value if Beckham is still at the club.

But sources in Spain say the club are sensitive to Beckham's family problems and would reluctantly grant a move if he made a request.

They have already done well out of him off the pitch and believe that large-scale replica shirt counterfeiting in Asia has reduced his significance for them there. The club have made a down payment of £17m on his transfer and, even though his buy-out clause is reportedly around £140m, Real would be interested in making a lesser, although still significant, profit from a player they had for just a year.

Playing-wise Beckham's fortunes for Real have been mixed. He made an unexpectedly big impact early on but his form has not been as impressive since Christmas and the team are in the doldrums.

Manager Carlos Queiroz, who worked with Beckham at United as Ferguson's assistant, is set to leave this summer after his team went out of the European and Spanish cups.

For very different reasons, the England captain may go with him. Chelsea are awaiting his texts.