If Beckham moves, Asia may follow

In China, millions of European football devotees know him as "Little Bei." In Japan and South Korea, he's a pop icon, revered like a rock star.

If David Beckham, soccer megastar and Manchester United midfielder, moves to Spain or Italy the allegiance of millions of Asian fans -- and their spending habits -- are likely to move with him. Such is his extraordinary celebrity in the region.

In China, the Beckham sweepstakes headed the list of bulletin board topics on the popular Internet portal sina.com, and many fans criticized Manchester United for appearing willing to put their prize player on the auction block.

"I'll never watch Manchester United games again," one vowed.

Beckham, one of the biggest sports names in marketing with a brand worth an estimated US$334.5 million, is the face of English soccer in Asia -- his looks sell motor oil in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, and his ever-changing hair helps market beauty products in Japan.

His fans are critical to negotiations to lure the 28-year-old England captain away from Manchester United to European clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid, his celebrity treasured nearly as much as his passes.

The two clubs lag their British rivals in developing business in Asia. Landing a player who can generate a Beatles-like reception in Japan -- the world's second-richest economy -- would be a quick-fix way of reversing that.

Beckham looks certain to leave Manchester United before next season and Barcelona are the front runners to sign him after the English champions conditionally accepted a US$48.9 million bid this week.

But the deal is far from complete, and Real Madrid remain a contender and possibly Beckham's favorites.

For either club, Beckham is an entry to Asia, where Manchester United have an estimated 16 million supporters. Of those, a third support the player rather than the club, according to branding agency FutureBrand.

"Many fans in Asia watch a team because of the individual star players. When those players are transferred, quite often they will swap allegiances to a club and they will follow the player," said FutureBrand consultant Samantha McCollum.

"It's certainly very different to how things work in the UK, where you are committed to a club," she said.

It's easy to find evidence of Beckham fever.

In Thailand, a Buddhist temple near Bangkok has statuettes of him at the base of a Buddha image, and thousands mobbed him at Bangkok airport on a visit two years ago.

For 25-year-old Indonesian lawyer Kusumawardhani the appeal is simple. "He's drop-dead gorgeous," she gushed.

On a Japanese Web site devoted to Beckham, or Bekkamu as he is known there, fans pondered his fate.

"Will he still be able to wear number 7?" one asked.

"Oh come on," another replied, "Beckham IS number 7!"