Trophy lure will keep Beckham at Real Madrid

Predrag Mijatovic, the Real Madrid sporting director, believes the scent of silverware will lead David Beckham to extend his contract at the club. The former England captain has yet to celebrate a major trophy success since moving to Madrid in 2003, but following the sweeping changes at the club this summer and the team's decent start to the season, optimism is high at the Bernabeu that Real will soon end that barren spell.

"He has not had much luck in the last three years after arriving at Real Madrid thinking he would win many trophies," Mijatovic said. "Now the situation is different, and I think that he is aware of that.

"We have a club that knows what it wants, we have an atmosphere that is much more healthy than the last three years, circumstances that are a guarantee that we can hope for great success at the end of the season."

Beckham, whose four-year contract at Real runs out next summer, has made clear his frustration at mainly being on the bench this season under the new coach, Fabio Capello, and that lack of first-team action is believed to be a key reason why the 31-year-old has yet to sign a new deal.

Mijatovic is aware of the situation, but is still convinced Beckham will stay. "He is happy in Madrid. At the moment he is not in the first XI, but that does not mean the situation will be the same in a few weeks."