AS if Wednesday's festival of football at Old Trafford was not entertaining enough, the match contained the most fascinating of postscripts.

When David Beckham swapped shirts with Zinedine Zidane, so the story goes, the Frenchman asked why his opponent was keen on the exchange.

"I don't know why you want my Real Madrid shirt," Zidane supposedly said. "You'll be wearing one every week next season."

Certainly, the two players were laughing and joking as they left the pitch - but the man with the biggest smile in Manchester was looking on from the stands.

Just as most people spoil themselves with one holiday a year, so Real Madrid president Florentino Perez indulges himself by buying a superstar every summer.

In 2000, Luis Figo crossed the Spanish rubicon when he joined Real from Barcelona.

Twelve months later, Zidane took his bag of tricks to the Bernabeu. And last year, as Real celebrated their ninth European Cup, Perez snapped up Ronaldo.

Now, rumour has it that Beckham is this season's must-have buy in the Perez household.

Don't think for one moment that Beckham would be a regular starter alongside Real's three mega-signings plus Raul, though.

Instead, having built a team that could beat any present international side, Perez now wants world domination off the pitch.

For all of Real's trophies, he still looks enviously at Manchester United's commercial muscle.

Beckham, he has decided, is the answer. Not only will he boost Real's earning power, the England captain's departure would instantly slash United's income.

And in a depressed transfer market, United's all-powerful plc would salivate if confronted by a £35m offer for the jewel in Old Trafford's crown. Had Beckham been wearing his usual No 7 shirt on Wednesday night, he could have rolled up his long sleeves to show his determination to prove a point. Two goals - a glorious free-kick and a scrappy close-range effort - in the final 20 minutes underlined his supreme talent. After spending so long reduced to the role of spectator as his peers produced some scintillating football, Beckham showed he belongs in their company. Of course, the game was effectively dead when he made his belated entrance to the fray.

And Beckham would face the toughest fight of his career to displace Figo - Real's right-sided midfielder who was majestic against United. Furthermore, would English football be best served by having the national skipper sat on the Bernabeu bench? Probably not, but what Perez wants, Perez usually gets. And if Beckham is wearing a Real shirt come August, expect the president to be smiling again.