FOOTBALL's January transfer window closes tonight and the scramble for new signings has been another reminder of the incredible amounts of money that change hands at the highest level of the game.

It is a world apart from normality for the vast majority of people and it is surely inevitable that more clubs will go bust as a result of trying to compete beyond their means.

One of those who changed clubs last night was David Beckham who, at 37, is surely making the final move of his playing career by signing for Paris St-Germain. He doesn't need to go on playing, and certainly doesn't need the money.

Beckham has created an image which has made him a money-making machine. His career at the highest level of football, together with his long list of endorsements and his marriage to a Spice Girl, will ensure that his family never want for anything.

Nevertheless, he is by all accounts a thoroughly decent man and it is refreshing to see that he will be donating his salary to a children's charity after signing for the French league leaders.

Of course, we all know he can afford it - he will still have millions in the bank - but it is a gesture he didn't need to make.

It is an example to those in the money-obsessed world of top flight football that they are in the extremely fortunate position to be able to help others as well as themselves.