The Angel v The Devil! Now English foes in France, Beckham prepares to square up to bad boy Barton on PSG debut



No-one dare calculate the value of David Beckham to the power of PSG. They would step through to oblivion before calculating the unending zeros.



Becks is preparing for his debut against Marseille on Sunday when money matters are left behind the touchline - he is donating his wages to a children’s charity after all - and fans are not expecting to see him make much more than a cameo role, late in the game, for set-pieces.



Head to head: David Beckham (left) and Joey Barton could meet in Sunday's league clash



Fronting up: France Football magazine depicted Barton as the Devil and Beckham as an Angel

Beckham v Barton

The Englishman could clash in two matches in four days. Follow both matches with Sportsmail's live coverage, plus video highlights of the action...

Sunday: PSG v Marseille, League

Wednesday: PSG v Marseille, Cup Tickets are STILL available for both matches, with prices starting from £52 for the league match and £30 for the cup clash - search here for details

‘You will only know when QSG (Qatar Saint-Germain) has had enough of gorging on Beckham when you’re in a coma through an overdose,’ one Lyon fan comments.



But rational and the one-dimension of reality never stopped the French falling in love.



His trajectory in French football, as with his whole career, is hyper-commercial and the Beckham brand is an incalculable firmament.



But the biblical hyperbole - staggeringly - has its place. He has won over everyone. Journalists in France are gleefully rubbing their hands in the hope PSG’s new deity will put Joey Barton in his place.



Thursday’s France Football features Angel and Demon, depicting Barton as a cheap, camp-looking Satanic creature, cowering behind a winged Becks. France needs an English hero.

Barton’s latest back-handed compliment (or, rather, misguided untruth) of how French players don’t work hard in training because they regard it as a sign of a lack of talent, prompted eye-rolling across the Channel.

Ready to roll: Beckham (third from left) trains with his new team-mates in Paris

Reputation: Barton (right) has impressed since arriving at Marseille on loan from QPR

Tale of the tape...



BECKHAM

BARTON

Age

37

30

Weekly wage

£150,000

£70,000

Clubs Man United, Real Madrid,

LA Galaxy,

AC Milan, PSG

Man City, Newcastle,

QPR,

Marseille

Games

517

278

Goals

97 29 Trophies P League x 6

Champions League x 1

FA Cup x 2

La Liga x 1

Spanish Cup x 1

MLS Cup x 2

Championship

x 1

England caps

115

1



While few will continue to be reeled in by Barton’s tweets which lurch from Baudelaire to Satre via Babelfish, France is mildly, fondly obsessed with Beckham.



The country dissects his character in the front pages as well as the back, with certainty there’s more to the man, while pausing to swoon at the just how far the science of male grooming has come.



Elsewhere Lille goalkeeper Steve Elana commended his ‘true professionalism’ to RMC radio.

David Ginola, in a Q&A with Le Parisien newspaper said it doesn’t end with a beautiful right foot and the Frenchman warned Becks will not have lost the aggression he saw him play with in his Premier League years, between 1995 and 2002.

Hero: Beckham is admired for his exploits with England, including his crucial free-kick against Greece in 2001

In its lifestyle pages, Le Parisien insisted that if it were another plastic fascination then Cristiano Ronaldo could have claimed the same relentless, international female following.



Striding out at the Parc des Princes means marketability will be stripped down to pure ability.



Beckham has never had pace, meaning his 37 years are of no concern to manager Carlo Ancelotti who has always rated his technical skill and urged him to become the Ryan Giggs of PSG.



He was challenged to improve his fitness over a week ago and has shown commitment during training at Clairefontaine, but almost certainly will not start. Choosing not to field a player who last played 90 minutes on December 1, during the biggest grudge tie in Ligue 1, is the sensible balance to a capital’s adulation.



Villain: Barton was sent off for violent conduct in his last match in England last May

So, when called off the bench, where will he play? Dropping him into defensive midfield in Ancelotti’s 4-2-3-1 formation is the obvious choice, and to see how he performs alongside Blaise Matuidi will be interesting.

Considering he will have little by way of a shift to put in, Beckham could appear along the right flank, which is an inflated possibility given Lucas Moura’s fitness problems and how Ancelotti’s relationship with Jeremy Menez has soured.



Wherever Beckham is summoned to, he will be the 400th footballer to wear PSG’s famed Tour d’Eiffel. Even that, however, is having a reported make-over.

Circus: Beckham's arrival in France has caused huge interest in the media

Predominantly a rugby-following country, French remote controls will be fixed on Le Coq’s battle at Twickenham against England on Saturday, desperate to turn around their worst opening form to a Six Nations tournament since 1982.



But Le Classique – France’s version of El Clasico - is a rivalry of true antipathy, between the country’s two biggest-supported sides and will probably edge it in the viewing figures.

While the match isn’t sell-out (they very seldom are in France), new banners and chants will no doubt demonstrate a city’s appreciation for English manners, style and a permanent hint of a smile.