Minus Beckham, Real Madrid Reportedly Asks Bank For Loan

Beckham's Departure, Early Eliminations Reportedly Force Real Madrid To Seek Loan

La Liga club Real Madrid, which in '07 lost MF David Beckham to the MLS Galaxy, has been "forced to ask one of Spain's biggest banks for an emergency loan of [US$47M] to cover running costs," according to a Spanish-language newspaper El Mundo report cited by Marcus Leroux of the LONDON TIMES. Club directors also have "been asked to raise additional funds." Since being named in February as the world's richest club by Deloitte, Real's revenue has "plummeted thanks to [Beckham's]" departure and the club's "early elimination from the Champions League in the past two years." Real, which last season boasted an average attendance of 70,000 at Santiago Bernabeu stadium, took in "only [US$109.7M] in gate receipts." A Univ. of Catalonia study estimated that Beckham's departure has "cost the club between [US$47.9-59.9M]" (LONDON TIMES, 4/3). The El Mundo report also noted that the loan request is the "first loan Real have asked for since" former club President Lorenzo Sanz lost the presidency in '00 (London INDEPENDENT, 4/3).