De Bruyne completes Napoli move after Man City exit
Kevin de Bruyne has completed his move to Napoli after the Belgian midfielder left Manchester City at the end of the 2024-25 Premier League season.
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Sky News
33 minutes ago
- Sky News
PR-savvy and now finally a knight - Beckham always knew how to turn on the charm
A sporting icon courted by prime ministers past and present, newly knighted Sir David Beckham is renowned for being extremely media savvy. Never more so than when I interviewed him for Sky News at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, after he took part in the closing ceremony having played a key role in London's winning bid to host the 2012 Games. Speaking about Sir Alex Ferguson in the interview, canny Sir Becks heaped praise on his old boss in our interview. But he'd been less complimentary about his old boss in a conversation with prime minister Gordon Brown, I later learned. I'd travelled to Beijing with Mr Brown, via Afghanistan, and we spent the final evening of the Games at the handover party, when Boris Johnson - then London mayor - famously spoke in his speech about "wiff waff" (table tennis) coming home. During his Beijing visit, Mr Brown had been promoting the idea of a Great Britain football team competing at the 2012 Games and there was speculation about Sir Alex being the team's coach. "Aah, Sir Alex," Becks said wistfully and apparently affectionately when I asked him about being re-united with his former Manchester United manager during the interview. "Like a father to me." Later, on the flight home to the UK, when I told Gordon Brown about the interview, the prime minister laughed. "That's funny," he said. "Why?" I asked him. Beckham played for Fergie at Manchester United from 1995 until 2003, when he joined Real Madrid amid claims that Ferguson disapproved of the player's showbiz lifestyle. By 2008 he was playing for LA Galaxy in the US. But despite his canny, PR-savvy answers in my interview, I saw him work the room that night in Beijing and glad-hand relentlessly. He gave every interview asked of him and turned on the charm on behalf of UK PLC to everyone present. For politicians and prime ministers, sportsmen and women like Beckham are pure gold. David Cameron was also a fan and was photographed sitting alongside Becks at the London Games. When "Goldenballs", as wife Victoria called him, retired from football a year later, a No 10 spokesman gushed: "The prime minister's view is that David Beckham has been an outstanding footballer throughout his career. "But not only that, he has been a brilliant ambassador for this country, not least if we remember all the work he did on helping us win London 2012." There was indeed a Great Britain men's football team at the Olympics, but it was coached by former England legend Stuart Pearce, not Sir Alex. And Pearce, nicknamed "psycho" for his aggressive style on the pitch, didn't pick Becks either, though he claimed he'd faced pressure from Downing Street to include him. Then in 2017, David Cameron's former spin doctor Craig Oliver claimed a senior Tory cabinet minister - thought to have been George Osborne - suggested giving Becks a peerage and appointing him sports minister in a 2013 cabinet reshuffle. That never happened either, obviously, though at least now David Beckham is also a knight - just like his "father figure" Sir Alex.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Club World Cup wonderkids to watch: Real Madrid legend's son teaming up with Lionel Messi, Africa's next megastar and Brazil's future No 9
Forget Lionel Messi. Ignore Kylian Mbappe. Never mind or . Gianni Infantino and FIFA's marketing bods have promoted the Club World Cup as the ultimate duel between football's greatest – but that will happen in a year's time, at the real World Cup.
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
David Beckham ‘immensely proud' of knighthood in King's Birthday Honours
The sports star, who celebrated his 50th birthday last month, is being honoured for services to sport and charity. Sir David said in a statement to the PA news agency: 'Growing up in East London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour. 'To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career and literally a boyhood dream come true. 'Off the pitch I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to represent Britain around the world and work with incredible organisations that are supporting communities in need and inspiring the next generation. 'I'm so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment. It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I'm immensely proud and it's such an emotional moment for me to share with my family.' Sir David married his wife Victoria in 1999 and the couple share four children together – Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper. He had been set on becoming a professional footballer as a child and as a teenager he joined Manchester United as a trainee, forming part of the class of '92 that won the FA Youth Cup, along with Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. The sports star from north east London made his Premier League debut for United in 1995 and was part of the team that earned a dramatic Champions League final victory in 1999 when they beat Bayern Munich with two late goals. In total he scored 85 goals and collected honours including six Premier League titles and two FA Cups as a footballer, before retiring from the sport in 2013. Alongside his football career Sir David has supported a number of charity causes and launched a fundraising appeal for Unicef in April ahead of his milestone 50th birthday. He has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for humanitarian aid organisation Unicef since 2005 and is a founding member of the charity Malaria No More UK's leadership council. Philip Goodwin, Unicef UK chief executive said: 'We're so thrilled that our Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, David Beckham, has been awarded a knighthood in the King's Birthday Honours. 'David Beckham has done an incredible amount to advocate for children's rights over the last 20 years. 'He became a Goodwill Ambassador in 2005 and launched 7: The David Beckham Unicef Fund in 2015 – with the goal of helping children around the world, especially girls, break down barriers including bullying, violence, child marriage and missed education. 'He's travelled extensively to see Unicef's work and used his profile to raise awareness, as well as support our flagship fundraising campaign Soccer Aid for Unicef and launch global fundraising appeals.' Last year the former sports star, who has described himself as a 'huge Royalist', was named an ambassador for the King's Foundation, an educational charity established by the King in 1990. In February Sir David appeared in a video helping to launch the hunt for '35 under 35', a network of influencers who can fly the flag for the charity which reflects Charles' vision. He is also known for his stylish clothing choices, and in 1998 was named most stylish man of the year by GQ magazine and he has modelled for the likes of H&M, Armani and Boss. In 2018 he was appointed Ambassadorial President of the British Fashion Council where he assisted the BFC in its search for young British talent from all backgrounds. His wife, Victoria, turned her hand to fashion designing after her time in the Spice Girls and Sir David and their four children are often spotted at her shows. Sir David is currently a part-owner of MLS side Inter Miami, and is also the co-founder of Studio 99, the production company behind the hit Netflix series Beckham. He was formerly appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003.
