David Beckham’s transfer to Real Madrid has been handled by a former Bird & Bird lawyer who is now in-house at the footballer’s agents SFX.

Legal counsel Sam Rush told The Lawyer that he is flying out to Madrid with the England captain on 30 June to sign contracts and will formalise his transfer to the Spanish club on 2 July.

Rush said that the deal gathered momentum when Beckham returned from the US, and that the SFX team entered face-to-face negotiations with the Real Madrid board on 16 June.

Rush secured one of the most envied jobs in the legal profession in January 2002 when he joined SFX from Bird & Bird.

Beckham’s personal family lawyer, who was also involved in the negotiations, is Andrew Thompson of Lee & Thompson.

Manchester United FC (MUFC) was represented by James Chapman & Co partner and MUFC director Maurice Watkins and his assistant Matthew Bennett.