Realising his worth at Real Madrid, England soccer captain David Beckham is demanding the Spanish club's bosses a pay deal of 770,000 pounds a week.
"Becks has tabled the sensational demand, which adds up to 40million pounds a year, because he realises he is Madrid's most valuable asset," The Mirror tabloid reported on Saturday.
Beckham, 30, wants a basic weekly salary of 190,000 pounds plus all the profits from his shirt sales that have made the elite club the richest in the world. His No. 23 shirt generates more cash than any other item in world sport.
But he may be prepared to settle for 540,000 pounds a week after negotiations over his image rights, the report said.
This will still make him the world's third highest paid sportsman after World no.1 golf star Tiger Woods (51 million pounds) and Ferrari's seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher (47 million pounds).
Beckham's move from Manchester United in a 25million pound-deal two years ago, has increased Real Madrid's income from 127million pounds a year to 190million pounds.
More from rediff