Milan rivals question Beckham loan motivation

Internazionale president Massimo Moratti says his club would not have made a move to sign David Beckham, who has agreed a two-month loan switch to city rivals AC Milan.

The 33-year-old England midfielder is set to join the Rossoneri in January from LA Galaxy, with Moratti questioning the sporting validity of the deal.

He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Their philosophy is different to ours. The Beckham deal is part of a philosophy that Milan began when they brought in Christian Vieri, then Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

"It's a road that a big club can go down and it can deliver entertainment to the public. However, we are choosing to go down a different road and you can't mix and match philosophies.

"We will have to wait until the end of the season to see which path works better."

Meanwhile, Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli insists Claudio Ranieri's future at the club was never in doubt despite the club's inconsistent start to the campaign and says the Old Lady have money to spend in the January transfer window.

Roberto Mancini had been touted as Ranieri's possible replacement after the Bianconeri took only nine points from their opening seven Serie A matches of the campaign.

However, a Champions League win against Real Madrid has lifted the gloom that was threatening to engulf the club, with Cobolli telling the Gazzetta dello Sport: "Ranieri's position at the club was never in question.

"We are very grateful to him for what he is doing and even more so for what he will be doing in the future. We all picked him as a manager and he is staying put.

"I have already stated that we have the finances to bring in some new faces next January.

"We did so last winter when we purchased Mohamed Sissoko. However, we first want to see what happens over the next few months.

"Several important players are recovering from injury lay-offs. Cristiano Zanetti is a pillar in midfield and Jonathan Zebina is a great centre-back who can always make a difference."