SO Sir Alex Ferguson has won the day and David Beckham, the darling of Old Trafford, is the loser.

Don't you believe it!

There are no losers in this contest.

Fergie made up his mind that it was time for Beckham to go - whether the England captain liked it or not.

The likelihood is, of course, he will like it very much.

A move to Real Madrid - still the greatest club side in the world whether Manchester United like it or not - brings with it huge kudos and yet more vast riches for Family Beckham.

Wife Victoria's wish has been granted - her beloved is free of Fergie, the manager who literally gave him the boot as far back as February when he kicked one across the Old Trafford dressing room, causing a gash above his eye.

The wound, metaphorically-speaking, ran deep and festered.

Beckham's pride has undoubtedly been wounded, too, by the manner in which United have offered him on a plate to Europe's ravenous elite, like "a piece of meat'' in his words - or so it is claimed.

Yet it seems the way Beckham has hawked himself around of late on his tacky, self-promoting world tour, reinforced Fergie's decision to get rid of his one-time talisman.

Still, a little matter of £90,000-a-week or whatever, and the chance to rub shoulders with Ronaldo et al, will surely help the healing process for Beckham as he prepares to part with his boyhood heroes.

Man. United fans shouldn't fret too much, either, though they will long for Beckham in the short-term.

Fergie has overseen the end to the Old Trafford careers of players who, in their own way, were as good if not even better than Beckham.

What about this lot: Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince, Jaap Stam, Andrei Kanchelskis, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke...

United will go on winning without Beckham - and Beckham will go on winning without United.