Gary Neville's touching message to 'emotional' David Beckham after knighthood
Best pal Gary Neville has paid tribute to David Beckham after the football legend was awarded a knighthood early this week following years of speculation
Gary Neville has paid tribute to close pal Sir David Beckham after he finally received a knighthood in the king's birthday honours' list.
Emotional Beckham, 50, had been talked up as deserving of the gong for several years and found out last week that he was to be awarded.
And Neville, who became the best of friends with Beckham during their time at Manchester United and served as best man at the high-profile wedding to Posh Spice, said in a post on social media: "Wow, Sir David Beckham! Congratulations mate. You deserve it and I'm so happy for you. Take time to reflect on everything you've done in an incredible 50 years!"
Beckham spoke about the award before last night's FIFA Club World Cup opener between Inter Miami, the MLS team he co-owns, and Al Ahly.
And while the game was a scoreless stinker, Beckham was light-heartedly asked by broadcaster DAZN if he had a chance to update his passport to include his new title.
'No, definitely not, I haven't,' Beckham said. 'It's been an emotional week I must admit. For me and for my family. It's obviously very special. It's a huge honour, but one that has been shared with myself and my family and so, it's been emotional.'
The Club World Cup continues on Sunday with European champions Paris Saint-Germain facing Atletico Madrid in the pick of the fixtures.
Two Premier League teams will feature. Chelsea get their campaign underway on Monday evening against Los Angeles FC, who have Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris in their ranks, while Manchester City meet Morocco's most successful team, Wydad Casablanca, on Wednesday afternoon.
The competition runs to July 13 with the winners set to pocket almost £100m from a total prize fund worth £775m - a huge financial reward despite the tournament being heavily criticised by some players and many supporters.
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