The Sport Matrix: Friday 1 February 2013

Beckham to give £4m PSG salary to children's charity

David Beckham's €10m-a-year (£8.5m) salary for his new club Paris St-Germain will be given to a children's charity in the French capital, the player announced yesterday.

After being presented to a crowded press conference at the Parc des Princes, Beckham, 37, parried questions suggesting that he was now a highly paid icon rather than a footballer. "It's always for me about playing football," said Beckham. "But one of the reasons why I agreed to come to Paris is that I won't receive any salary. It will all go to a local children's charity."

Beckham insisted that he had chosen PSG because he wanted to be part of the Qatar-funded plans to make the club "one of the greatest in the world".

Although Beckham signed only a five-month contract yesterday, the former England captain added that he had "discussed" the possibility of staying at the club in some sporting or promotional capacity when he calls time on his playing career.

His wages, which he will not claim, are understood to be around €800,000 a month. After training with Arsenal at their Hertfordshire base this week, Beckham said that he hoped to make his debut in Ligue 1 "in the next few weeks" – but not this weekend or next. MORE

Redknapp elated with Samba deal

QPR manager Harry Redknapp hailed Christopher Samba an "unbelievable signing" after the defender joined for a club record fee of around £12.5m from Anzhi Makhachkala. Redknapp said: "[QPR chairman] Tony Fernandes deserves a lot of credit for this one." MORE

Butland poised for £4m Stoke move

The England goalkeeper Jack Butland was poised to sign for Stoke City in a £4m deal as the transfer window closed last night. But the 19-year-old, who turned down a move to Chelsea last week, will be immediately loaned back to Birmingham for the rest of the season. MORE

Murray to sit out Davis Cup match

World No 3 Andy Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, will miss Great Britain's Davis Cup tie against Russia at Coventry's Ricoh Arena on 5-7 April to focus on the clay season. MORE

Lancaster angry at 'arrogance' jibe

Stuart Lancaster has hit back at the former Scotland coach Jim Telfer for calling England arrogant. "That kind of thing is not in our culture, not in our nature," said England's head coach ahead of tomorrow's Six Nations game against Scotland. MORE

Hodgson has no burnout fears

England manager Roy Hodgson rejected the notion of player "burnout" after letting the likes of Raheem Sterling play for the Under-21s next week and picking a strong squad to face Brazil. He said: "How do you avoid the players not having played a long season before?"MORE

Super league: Tip of the iceberg

The Super League returns this evening with no title sponsor and numerous clubs deep in debt. Between them, 11 clubs are calculated to have debts of £68m, writes Dave Hadfield. MORE

Biggar looks best for Irish test

Interim Wales coach Rob Howley has turned to Dan Biggar as the team begin the defence of their Six Nations title with their game against Ireland in Cardiff tomorrow. Rhys Priestland was ruled out of because of a snapped Achilles tendon. MORE

Nugent ensures Leicester triumph

Leicester City consolidated their place in the top two in the Championship after beating Wolves 2-1. Anthony Knockaert gave Leicester the lead but Wolves' Bakary Sako scored a second-half equaliser. David Nugent struck the winner in the 73rd minute. MORE

Button excited by challenge for title

McLaren's Jenson Button spoke of his excitement ahead of the new season yesterday. "I'm pretty damn excited," said Button, whose team-mate is now Sergio Perez. "I have my best chance of winning the World Championship with McLaren." MORE

Twelvetrees ready for England debut

England head coach Stuart Lancaster is impressed with Billy Twelvetrees' development. Lancaster said: "You can see a change in his body language, in the way he communicates and controls people around him. He feels comfortable." MORE