Berti puts foot in his mouth

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Sep 12, 2004 | by Tom Shields'

Burns does a perfunctory job of including Beckham in the tale, even going all the way to Chingford, Essex, to check the ambience of Beckham's home town.

An Englishman Abroad by Phil Ball takes more of a ringside seat at the Beckham circus. Ball, who lives in Spain, also sets the Beckham presence into the unique context of Real Madrid and Spain. But we also get details such as the financial affairs of the Beckham menage when the couple stayed at the Santa Moura Hotel in Madrid.

The bill for two months came to (pounds) 432,875, of which (pounds) 80,300 was for accommodation. (pounds) 54,285 went on the restaurant, (pounds) 18,000 on room service, and (pounds) 77,000 on guests. Not being much of a drinker, Beckham spent (pounds) 6850 at the bar but (pounds) 18,000 on parking his motors.

There was a bill of (pounds) 178,440 for sundries including laundry, messages (presumably not as in messages from Safeway) and for the boy Romeo's birthday party. All presumably paid out of the petty cash from the Gillette deal.