Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has claimed that he has ‘no regrets’ over selling former England Captain David Beckham.

Beckham who left Manchester United in 2003 to join Spanish giants Real Madrid was believed to have fallen out with Ferguson upon his departure. The 34 year old will be making his Old Trafford return next month in the mouth-watering Champions League clash between AC Milan and United. Yet Fergie claims he has no regrets in letting Beckham leave. In an interview with the Inside United magazine Sir Alex said ‘No regrets. We move on. The only real difference with David’s return to Manchester United compared with the other players is that there will be a big media circus surrounding him when Milan arrive.’

Having long since patched up any differences they may have had Sir Alex Ferguson clearly does not find Beckham’s celebrity status to his taste. ‘He's such a high-profile celebrity – not just a high-profile footballer – and we haven't really seen anybody else return to the club in that situation. But our job is to concentrate on the football match and let the David Beckham media circus carry on – we know we're not going to stop it anyway.’

Yet did Sir Alex in his eternal wisdom make a mistake in selling Beckham or D.Becks as our esteemed colleagues over the pond refer to him. Sir Alex has made mistakes before, the signings of Kleberson and Djemba Djemba for example. Or the decision to sell Jaap Stam at the peak of his powers surely can be linked to United’s lack of Champions League glory after the monumental 1999 treble.

Beckham is a class act, even now at 34 his set piece and crossing ability is one of the best in the world and would grace most teams with his presence. But I would have to agree with Fergie here on the ‘no regrets’. Whilst Beckham’s Real Madrid career is the source of much debate to how successful it was, I think Fergie’s decision to offload him was the right one. For starters the £25 million was a good deal considering United brought him through the youth ranks. Furthermore Beckham’s celebrity status by 2003 riled Ferguson to the point where he clearly felt it was affecting the team. With the money generated from D. Becks sale, United went and bought some young raw Portuguese kid whose name escapes me. The rest is history.

Manchester United’s 2007-2008 double winning side is hailed by many as Sir Alex and Manchester United’s greatest team. Would have David Beckham gained a start in that 11? Doubtful. What also can be raised is Ferguson’s switch to a 4-3-3 tactic which has become popular amongst the big teams in Europe over the past 5 years. Beckham doesn’t really fit into that system for a Premier League side with his lack of pace and ability to take people on. Milan suits Beckham’s skills in his final years as a player. He is at the best club for extending players careers, the Milan squad’s average age must be around 35! Additionally the slower pace and more tactic based game the Italians play complement Beckham’s style.