Beckham lost in translation?

David Beckham appeared to end months of speculation that his wife Victoria is pregnant today.

When Beckham - who has lived in Madrid for three years - was asked by a Spanish television journalist whether it was true he was to be a father again, he smiled broadly and replied 'Yes' without hesitation.

The Real Madrid midfielder was confronted by a group of fans and reporters as he drove away alone from his club's training ground following a practice session near the Spanish capital.

As he signed autographs for fans from his grey Audi, the journalist said to him in Spanish: "Beckham. Enhorabuena! Es verdad que vas a ser padre?' Which translates exactly as: 'Beckham, congratulations. Is it true that you're going to be a father?'

Beckham smiled broadly as he contemplated the question and answered 'Si' - the Spanish word for 'Yes'.

The journalist continued the line of questioning, asking if he was happy about the news, to which he again replied 'Si'.

He was then asked how he was, to which he replied the Spanish for 'Very well', and then asked how Victoria was, to which he answered - again in Spanish - 'Good, thanks'.

The questioner then appeared to over-step the mark when he asked; 'Would you prefer a boy of a girl?'

Beckham, clearly understanding the question, smiled but kept his lips sealed, and continued to sign autographs.

The exchange looked to be the strongest confirmation possible that the couple were in fact expecting again.

And Within minutes of the report going out on Spanish television, stories claiming Mrs Beckham was expecting the couple's fourth child were being reported as fact to millions of readers on the internet.

However the couple's aides scrambled swiftly into action claiming that despite David's apparent understanding of the questions and the word-perfect answers he gave, he had in fact completely misunderstood the questions.

One of Beckham's camp said: 'They asked him a question which in his mind went something along the lines of "how are Victoria and the new baby". By which he took to mean their youngest child. It was a complete misunderstanding. She is not pregnant.'

Intriguingly, David's official publicist would only say: 'I can neither confirm nor deny reports that Victoria is pregnant'.

Grainy footage of the conversation was played on Monday night on one of Spain's most popular celebrity TV programmes - Gente.

Presenting the story as a world exclusive the show reported that Beckham had confirmed his wife is pregnant.

The story was quickly picked up by newspapers around Spain and reported as fact.

Today the news was being reported on websites from news organisations as far away as Argentina and Peru.

A spokeswoman for Gente said: 'We stand by our story. We heard it from David himself that Victoria is pregnant. His representatives can say what they like.'

Gente bought the video footage through a local photographic agency.

Beckham signed for Real Madrid in summer 2003 for ￡25 million from Manchester United.

However, he has struggled with the language ever since. He once branded his own team losers during a radio interview by mistake.

While a Real Madrid director once tore into Beckham saying: 'He must learn the Spanish language. He's been here nearly two years and he doesn't speak it well. It's to do with respect towards the club, the fans and also towards his colleagues and his coach.'

But the star has mastered one aspect of Spanish - swearing.

He was taught Spanish swearwords by Brazilian team-mate Robert Carlos shortly after arriving at the club. Carlos's lessons helped him get sent off in May 2004 when he called a linesman a "hijo de puta" (son of a bitch).

Last February he blurted out the f-word in Spanish during a TV interview.

The Beckhams have three children, Brooklyn, seven, Romeo, four, and Cruz, one. Victoria is understood to desperately want a baby daughter as a sister for the three boys.