Weighing up icon's real value

Beckham at the Bridge would be huge box office, as they say in Hollywood.

The numbers, I'm sure, would stack up impressively and, in his present circumstances, such a move would probably suit the England captain nicely.

But would it suit Claudio Ranieri, assuming of course the amiable manager is still around to have a say in the matter?

Is David Beckham worth the trouble? Would London be a haven or simply generate a fresh range of problems for the boy from Leytonstone?

Beckham is an outstanding midfielder and has the leadership qualities that coaches admire.

But there is a downside. Ask Sir Alex Ferguson. The Manchester United manager released him after nine seasons of devoted first-team duty largely because of the circus that had developed around the footballer who so obviously enjoys the biggest public profile in the world.

Beckham's life is now like a never-ending soap opera. Back page, front page, News at Ten, Five Live, analysed, immortalised, the Beckham story embraces all the best and worst aspects of a modern sporting life.

Only a brave, resilient and understanding coach would welcome that kind of intrusive influence in the privacy of his dressing room. In football, the dressing room is the holy of holies, the one place where no outside influence is allowed. The trouble is, with Beckham it has become impossible to ignore the outside influences.

Beckham tries to keep his private life separate from his football career but such is the media interest this has become a difficult balancing act for him.

Should Real Madrid agree to sell, a prospective buyer has to work out the following equation before deciding whether to bid.

Does Beckham's marketing value - Peter Kenyon knows all about this - combined with his contribution on the pitch outweigh the kind of considerations that persuaded Ferguson to sell him? In other words, would he sell a lot of Chelsea shirts in Asia?

No prizes for guessing that Roman Abramovich's answer will be 'yes'.