Report: Beckham looks to buy Malaga

If you believe the papers in Spain, an unlikely partnership is teaming up to rescue a top club.

El Mundo in Spain is reporting that former England captain David Beckham and ex-USA international Alexi Lalas are preparing an unlikely bid to acquire La Liga club Malaga.

Poor economic conditions has forced current Malaga owner Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani to put his shares on the open market. Beckham and Lalas are reputedly in talks to acquire 75 percent of the club in return for shares in other clubs.

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Beckham and Lalas have a close association through the Los Angeles Galaxy. Lalas was the general manager of the franchise when MLS made the blockbuster move to sign the former England international. Lalas is currently a broadcaster with ESPN while Beckham, 37, remains the league’s most marketable player, with his jersey topping sales across the American league.

Beckham is also one of the sport’s highest earners with a yearly haul estimated at $46m by Forbes magazine. The one time Real Madrid and Manchester United star has repeatedly expressed an interest to own a team some day and has an option to purchase an MLS club.

Malaga's new executive vice-president Moayad Shatat said he was unaware of any such operation and remains committed to the club’s project.

"At no moment have we said we were going to leave the club," said Shatat. "We began this project, we have invested a lot of money in it and we have no intention of stopping. We will keep the project going and we want the best for this club. We want to invest but we want to do it at the right point. The sheikh has always been interested about Malaga and the club is not for sale."

Shatat added: "I have been sent here to put in place a new working model for the club," he said. "Do not worry that we will invest money. We want what is best for the club, and to do things the best way possible for Malaga."