David Beckham has made no secret of the fact he'd love a knighthood - both publicly and privately.
The former England captain's quest to become Sir David Beckham has seen the dad-of-four put in the hours when it comes to serving the monarchy - evening spending a whopping 13 hours queueing to view Queen Elizabeth II's coffins following her death in September 2022.
But it seems like the Manchester United legend's past is still haunting him, with the 49-year-old snubbed by King Charles in the 2024 New Year honours - with even Sir Rod Stewart recently poking fun at David's lack of honorary title.
Despite being cleared from the Ingenious tax avoidance scheme in 2013, and making a roaring comeback in 2022 recommendations list, David's prospects for knighthood might still take a hit due to his leaked emails in 2017.
The leaks exposed his bitterness towards the honours committee where he labelled them as "unappreciative c***s" and expressed his lack of enthusiasm for being knighted by stating: "I expected nothing less. It's a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of got something like this 10 years ago." He also appeared disgruntled about the honour bestowed on Welsh crooner Katherine Jenkins in 2014, irately asking: "For what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops."
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At the time, David's pals claimed the fiery messages were issued "in the heat of the moment" as a reaction to him being snubbed for a knighthood - and that some were in fact "doctored". David, who was honoured with an OBE in 2003, insisted: "I don't care about being knighted."
The leaked emails included exchanges with his veteran PR man, Simon Oliveira, after Beckham lost out on the sought-after Sir title in 2013. Having championed charities like children's charity UNICEF and fronting the London Olympics, he was highly suspected as next in line for the honour. In another explosive revelation from leaked emails, he reportedly refused to donate $1m to a UNICEF event, stating "it's my f***ing money".
One of David's close friends defended him at the time, telling the Mirror "He is very calm at the moment because he knows the great work that he has done for UNICEF. But he is just saddened that people would question all of that work." The pal also tried to put David's outburst into context: "Genuinely, he wasn't as vitriolic as that, but you do say some things in private and in the heat of the moment."
"To be honest, he does feel that he has given so much to his country. And sometimes you say things in private that anyone would say and you don't really mean it." Regarding the contentious email concerning honours, the confidant clarified: "While he was frustrated in those emails, he was over it the moment he sent them. Getting the knighthood is not what his work is about. He doesn't care if he gets a knighthood or not."
UNICEF featured prominently in the emails and were damaging to David's image as a compassionate children's ambassador. One email leaked by Football Leaks alleged that David demanded UNICEF pay £6,685 for a business class flight to visit children affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines despite his sponsors covering the cost of a private jet.
David's friend hint back at critics of the leaked email: "The one thing David is very proud of and feels can't be faulted is his work for UNICEF. He has not only donated his own money, he has raised millions to help vulnerable children around the world. More importantly he has worked with the charity over the last 15 years."
"The fact that there are these hackers who are selectively in some instances cheekily doctoring some of that information saddens him. He will be going about his daily life with his kids. He has got work commitments coming up and he has constant work with UNICEF. There is always work he is doing with the charity, whether that is dinners or field trips. There are always a lot of things planned."
"Nothing will deter him or stop him from continuing with UNICEF. He is incredibly proud of what he is doing. The sad thing is he is being vilified when he has done such great work. It's the first time an ambassador in UN history has his own fund. Why these people want to detract from such great work is unbelievable."
A statement released by the charity in 2017 said: "UNICEF has become aware of media reports relating to 7: The David Beckham Unicef Fund. Some reports relate to alleged private correspondence between our ambassador and other parties, which we have not seen and cannot comment upon. David Beckham has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2005. As well as generously giving his time, energy and support to help raise awareness and funds for UNICEF's work for children, David has given significant funds personally."
It's not just those infamous leaked emails are raining on Golden Balls' parade to become Sir David Beckham. The former England skipper also faced harsh criticism for his recent decision to accept an ambassador role for Qatar, raking in a whopping £150 million over a span of a decade.
Comedian Joe Lycett even appealed to Becks to rethink this decision, creating a dramatic spectacle by acting like he was shredding £10,000 on stage last year before unveiling that it was a hoaxthat the cash had been donated to LGBTQ+ charities. Josh Cavallo, an Aussie football star and the only openly gay top-tier male player, reacted to his Man of the Year award win at the Attitude awards by playfully shouting "Take that David Beckham".
The magazine, which put the former Manchester United star on its cover back in 2002, also threw shade David's way. Editor-in-chief Cliff Joannou reflected: "It's a reminder that being an advocate for not just LGBTQ+ rights, but women's rights, immigrant workers' rights... and any human rights should not be lip service. It's not a trend to boost a person's profile."
"Human rights are not a fashion statement, they are real issues that affect the livelihood of billions of vulnerable people around the country. Joe Lycett's prank worked to highlight the flippant attitude David Beckham has to human rights. And what price tag he had in order to turn a blind eye to the corruption that awarded Qatar the World Cup by Fifa. It all amounts to making this year's so-called 'beautiful game' a truly ugly moment for sport."
David later broke his silence on the criticism, telling the Daily Telegraph: "I do a lot of research into partners that I’m going into business with. And I wanted to be involved in another World Cup. I like to see the game grow, and that means it going into territories it hasn’t been in before.
"I knew there’d be questions, I knew there was going to be criticism, but I’ve always been a believer that football is such a powerful tool. I knew that once the World Cup started, not that it would go away, but it was all then about how people were treated, how people weren’t excluded, what an experience the World Cup would be.
"I spent a month out there, and not one person came up to me and said, 'Oh my God, I’ve been treated like this, oh my God, I wasn’t allowed into this place…' I was around the LGBTQ community, I spoke to people on the ground. So I was happy with my decision."
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