– and thereby ensuring his second Champions League winners' medal, after Madrid secured a 2–1 victory over German team Bayer Leverkusen. 2002–03: Final season McManaman was used as a late substitute for games at the start of the campaign and after scoring a goal and assisting in a couple of new signing Ronaldo's goals he was given surprise starts. In one of his starts, he scored a brace against AEK Athens in the Champions League. McManaman also started in a game in 2003 in which Madrid were beaten 4–3 at Old Trafford against Manchester United in the Champions' League, even as Ronaldo hit a hat-trick. Nonetheless, after only playing 21 games of which he started only nine times, and making a meagre 15 appearances in La Liga, questions constantly arose throughout the season about McManaman's ability and reasons for staying in Spain considering his diminished role, lack of first-team action and international attention. Suggestions that McManaman had "sold out" for money and had grown indifferent and lackadaisical to his football were rampant in the British Press, though the media were also described as suffering from "a selective media amnesia over McManaman's time in Spain". Nonetheless, McManaman managed to pick up a second La Liga medal for the year and was in the squad that won the Intercontinental Cup in Japan. At the start of the 2003–04 pre-season, the signing of fellow Englishman David Beckham proved the last straw in eventually forcing McManaman down the pecking order at Real Madrid. McManaman remained with the club for its full pre-season, even after coach Vicente del Bosque was given a shock sacking 24 hours after having won the club's latest La Liga title, but in the close season, and the arrival of Carlos Queiroz as the new coach, McManaman was released by the club after helping Beckham with the language and to settle in, despite Beckham's pleas with the management for McManaman to remain. Manchester City 2003–04: Arrival and impressive performances In 2003–04, along with team-mates Claude Makélélé (where McManaman was initially included in the exchange as part of Madrid's deal with Chelsea), Fernando Hierro (who signed for Bolton Wanderers like Ivan Campo did – both based on McManaman's advice) and later Fernando Morientes (who said McManaman was instrumental in selling Liverpool F.C. to him), McManaman headed back to the Premier League. Initially reported to be joining Arsenal or Everton, McManaman eventually decided