What an unsavoury mess the whole Beckham affair has become. What an expos of the so-called beautiful game, as the greedy, ruthless business it really is.

Much has been made of the allegation that David Beckham's first loyalty is to his family rather than to Manchester United.

After all, he has had his son Brooklyn's name tattooed above his buttocks and his wife's name in Hindi tattooed on the inside of his forearm.

Assuming his loyalty precedence to be true, it is to the credit of this streetwise young man that he has his priorities absolutely right.

For to do it any other way with a club like Manchester United and a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson, who between them have exhibited such capacity for treachery, would be foolhardy in the extreme.

The breakdown in the relationship between the bullying manager and his brightest star is regrettable.

The recent post-match changing room row in which he kicked a football boot into Beckham's face was a disgrace - the sort of hooliganism you might expect from an out of control thug.

Yet this foul mouthed, foul tempered Ferguson is a man knighted for his services to football.

He has now decided that Beckham has become so much bigger than just a star football player, he no longer fits in at Old Trafford. Because he can no longer control or manipulate him, he has decided to sell him.

Ferguson's toadies mouth their master's words that the club is bigger than the man, that Manchester United could buy new stars with the £30 million the sale of Beckham would bring. The richest football club in Europe could get even richer.

Their lack of loyalty is not surprising. They are just another example of the British sickness - an inability to cope with success and celebrity.

Envy gnaws at their guts. They have to shoot down a brilliant, shining star.

But Ferguson, his board and his cronies may have taken on more than they bargained for. I hope this will be the case.

David Beckham has made it clear he does not want to leave United. He cannot be sold on like a pound of beef if he digs his heels in and refuses to go.

It is predicted if he stays on for the next two years until the end of his contract, he will spend the time sitting on the sidelines. I do not believe it. Ferguson may be petulant but he is not stupid.

If Beckham stays he will use him. He is still worth a fortune to the club as a playing captain. For when his contract runs out there is not even the value of a pound of beef to benefit from.

I must confess to a little envy myself. I envy the man his courage in wearing a sarong in public. I envy him even more for having slim enough hips to wear his wife's knickers - publicly or privately!