White Angels

Beyond race, faith, politics, class, sex or age, football is the great global religion. One of the most striking phenomena of the early 21st century is how the popularity of the game the British invented 150 years ago has exploded, attracting millions of new devotees. Women everywhere are flocking to the game, as are the hitherto pagan peoples of China, Japan and the United States. At the epicentre of this vast but benevolent explosion are David Beckham and the club he joined in 2003, Real Madrid.

No athlete in the world - and maybe no single individual - provokes more widespread fascination than the Londoner with the film-star looks. No sports team anywhere exudes more glamour, has won more competitions or possesses a more dazzling collection of superstars than Real Madrid. The fusion of the two has gripped the attention of literally millions of people, changing the face of the world's favourite sport, making a clear divide between what came before and what will come after; between the Old Football and the New.

White Angels looks at how David Beckham's transfer took place, the machinations and intrigue behind the deal. It exhaustively details Beckham's first year at Real, how he and his wife and family acclimatised to life in Spain, and how he fared on the field itself alongside such global stars as Figo, Zidane, Carlos, Raul and Ronaldo.

John Carlin, currently a Spanish resident, has been a foreign correspondent for many British newspapers. A football fanatic, he covered the World Cupin 2002 for the Observer and el Pais. In the writing of this book he has unprecedented access to the Real Madrid team travelling with them to matches, conducting extensive interviews with the players, its manager Jorge Valdano and its charismatic and driven chairman Florentino Perez.