United Nations, June 19: The transfer of England football star David Beckham from Manchester United to Real Madrid became an affair of state at the UN security council yesterday.
Spain's envoy to the UN , Inocencio Arias, said Beckham was not as good as Brazilian stars Ronaldo or Ronaldinho but was still "a very good player". Speaking at the end of a security council debate, Arias let undiplomatically slip which team he supports: "People who love Real Madrid, will love him, people who hate Real Madrid, they would hate our guts because we could buy this guy".
The ambassador said he admired Beckham "not only because he is good on the field, he is also very 'simpatico'" -- Spanish for likeable.

Bureau Report