Former right-back Botafogo, Carlos Alberto Torres, revealed on Thursday that former England captain David Beckham could have been the “plan B” for Botafogo, if signing of Clarence Seedorf had fallen through.
In an interview with ESPN Brasil on Thursday, Carlos Alberto, who was in the Netherlands while negotiations were ongoing between Botafogo and Seedorf, said that he was approached by a businessman who told him that Beckham had expressed a desire to play for a season in Brazil.
He said: “When the negotiation was about to close, I spoke with the president – he and I have a pretty cool relationship. I was in Amsterdam in May and an influential businessman, a famous player, came to me at the hotel, saying there was a player interested in playing for a year in Brazil: David Bechkham.
“If it did not work with Seedorf, he had this player to come to Brazil.”
Beckham, who played with Seedorf in Milan, currently plays in the M.L.S with Los Angeles Galaxy and Carlos Alberto believes that the signing of Beckham would have been huge for the club.
“In terms of marketing, it would be an excellent hire, without a doubt. But then Botafogo closed with Seedorf and this situation came to nothing.”
The story was confirmed to Lancenet on Thursday as well, with Botafogo president Mauricio Assumpção saying that the former Real Madrid star really was interested in swaping LA for Rio.
“That’s exactly what happened, there really was this interest,” said Assumpção.
