The 50-year-old, who was named on King Charles’ Birthday Honours list earlier this year, was knighted by the King during a ceremony in Berkshire on Tuesday.

“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Beckham.

“People know how patriotic I am – I love my country.

“I’ve always said how important the monarchy is to my family.

“I’m lucky enough to have travelled around the world and all people want to talk to me about is our monarchy. It makes me proud.”

The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder played 115 times for his country and captained the Three Lions for six years between 2000 and 2006.

He played in three World Cups for England, as well as two European Championships.

Beckham emerged from Manchester United’s academy in 1992 and spent 11 years in the first team before joining Real Madrid in 2003 in a £25m deal.

He played for four years in the Spanish capital before joining Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy. He had two loan spells at AC Milan during his time in Los Angeles, before finishing his career at Paris St-Germain in 2013.

But Beckham’s impact extends far beyond the pitch.

Born in east London, he played a role in securing the 2012 Olympics for London.

He has worked with humanitarian aid organisation Unicef since 2005 and had a fund named in his honour in 2015 to mark a decade-long partnership between the two.

Beckham became an ambassador for the King’s Foundation in 2024, supporting King Charles’ education programme and efforts to ensure young people have a greater understanding of nature.

He part-owns League Two side Salford City alongside former United and England team-mate Gary Neville, and is also co-owner of MLS side Inter Miami.

Image source: Press Association

Image caption: Beckham and his wife Victoria

Image source: Press Association

Image caption: Beckham made his England debut in 1996 and went on to earn 115 caps for his country

Beckham was part of a United side that won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup 25 years ago under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The present team are eighth in the Premier League and have not won the top-flight title since 2013.

United last won the Champions League in 2008 and the FA Cup in 2016, although they did win the Europa League in 2017 and League Cup in 2023.

“In all honesty, I think that anyone that watches this documentary and has a connection to United, that they’ll be inspired by it,” Beckham told BBC Radio 5 Live at the premiere of Amazon Prime’s ’99’.

“It’s been a difficult time for the team over the last few years now but it was always going to be.

“When we were as successful as we were for the amount of years there was always gong to be this time.

“Now, we feel it’s probably gone on for a little bit too long but it will mean something to these homegrown lads without a doubt because the homegrown lads actually talk about that moment in time so we hope it inspires them.”

Former England captain Beckham made 394 appearances for Manchester United, with six Premier League title wins among his honours during his time at the club from 1992 to 2003.

Gary Neville played with Beckham at United and the former England right-back believes history “can be your friend but also your enemy” at their former club.

He hopes current manager Erik ten Hag’s side can claim an unlikely victory against rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday, 25 May to kickstart another era of success.

“At the moment it’s really difficult,” said Neville. “It mustn’t be easy for them having this history rammed down their throats and, to be fair, quite a few of us are on television and we’re talking about the team regularly so I can understand why that would be uncomfortable.

“I would hope that say, for instance, in three weeks when Manchester United play the FA Cup final against City, they see that as an opportunity to shock this country and probably the world by beating City in a final.

“It was an FA Cup that Sir Alex Ferguson won in 1990 that started off this successful period that we were part of. Why can’t this FA Cup against Manchester City?”

‘Need to get back to Man Utd standards’ – McClaren

Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren was also at the premiere, having been Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant in 1999.

He told BBC Sport: “Arsenal are back after being down and Man United will do the same.

“We have had many storms. I see tremendous plusses from Ineos coming in and what they are trying to do. It is identifying the standards and getting back to them.

“At certain times since I have come back over the last two years, we have had those standards. We have also had standards that have not been Manchester United.

“Speaking to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, speaking to Sir Dave Brailsford, they are getting the best people in. They want this to succeed. They have done that in their other sports and businesses. I am positive they will do it again with Manchester United.”

The Cavaliers won 111-102 at the Accor Arena in front of nearly 15,000 fans.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 21 of his season-high 45 points in the fourth quarter, along with 12 rebounds.

Caris LeVert added 21 points, while Jarrett Allen claimed 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Also in attendance on Thursday were two-time Brazil World Cup winner Ronaldo, former NBA finals Most Valuable Player Tony Parker, PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and Lionesses stars Alessia Russo and Leah Williamson.

Elsewhere, Bobby Portis came off the bench to score a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the league-leading Boston Celtics 135-102.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo also claimed 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 26 minutes.

The Oklahoma City Thunder recorded a 62-point victory over the Portland Trail Blazers – the fifth-largest in NBA regular-season history – with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 31 points as they triumphed 139-77.

Josh Giddey picked up his first triple-double of the season, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists as Thunder secured a third consecutive victory.

The Phoenix Suns made a quick start against the Los Angeles Lakers as Bradley Beal’s season-high 37 points and Devin Booker’s 31 points secured a 127-109 win.

The Lakers’ Anthony Davis and LeBron James were held to 13 and 10 points respectively as the Suns celebrated their first victory over the Lakers in four attempts this season.

Also, the Dallas Mavericks held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the visiting New York Knicks 128-124, with Kyrie Irving scoring a season-high 44 points and Tim Hardaway Jr adding 32 points.

Beckham was criticised for associating himself with a country where same-sex relationships are illegal.

The Gulf state’s treatment of migrant workers has also been questioned by human rights campaigners.

“I had a lot of conversations with the LGBTQ community when I was there and they said they’d been treated perfectly fine,” Beckham, 48, told Sky Sports.

“They felt it was the safest World Cup they have had for a long time.”

Some LGBT fans boycotted the tournament over Qatar’s treatment of gay people, where homosexuality is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The conditions migrant workers lived and worked in while building the World Cup stadiums and male guardianship rules that curtail women’s freedoms also came under intense scrutiny.

Days before the World Cup began comedian Joe Lycett appeared to destroy £10,000 of his own money in a protest against Beckham’s role with the tournament, saying he was shredding it along with Beckham’s “status as a gay icon”.

Lycett later confirmed he had not really destroyed the cash and had in fact donated the money to charity.

The host country’s World Cup organisers stated “everyone is welcome” to visit and watch the matches, claiming no-one would be discriminated against.

The authorities also said there were three ‘work-related’ deaths on actual stadium construction sites since work began in 2014 – and 37 more off-site fatalities that are not ‘work related’. The Supreme Committee vowed worker welfare was a priority.

“Whatever partnership I go into within the business we always do our homework on everything,” added Beckham.

“To be involved in another World Cup for me was important. I’ve always said football is a game that should be shared around the world.

“This was an opportunity for another nation, for the Arab world to host one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

“Once we were there we knew there we going to be people who either talk about it a little bit more, or let the football do the talking.

“It was a great tournament. A lot of people were happy there.

“It was an important competition and one I was proud to be part of.”

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Football legend David Beckham has praised the legacy projects being created by the 2022 FIFA World Cup and believes that the tournament changes a country and its people for the better.

Beckham was recently the guest of honour at the Qatar Community World Cup semifinals, a tournament organised by the Qatar Community Football League (QCFL), which was founded in 2016 by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy – the organisation responsible for developing the infrastructure and legacy projects for Qatar 2022.

Beckham, who appeared and scored in three World Cup tournaments, said: “There’s no bigger sporting competition than the World Cup. It changes countries and it changes people’s lives. When we talk about legacy, this is real evidence of it.

“Even before the World Cup has begun, this is evidence of the incredible work the Supreme Committee has done. This is why the World Cup has been brought here – to improve the game and build a legacy. Legacy is the most important thing.”

Beckham went on to explain that fans from across the globe will witness Qatar’s passion for football when the country hosts the 22nd edition of the World Cup – and the first in the Middle East and Arab world.

“There is a rich history here and a love of the game, and that will be very evident when the tournament starts at the end of the year,” said the former England international. “People will see a football culture that has been here for a long time. And once the tournament finishes, the legacy will be there for everyone to see.”
Hosting the World Cup, said Beckham, is a golden opportunity to inspire the next generation: “When countries are given the chance to host a competition as big as this, it’s great while the competition is going on. But when it ends, what’s more important is leaving a legacy.
“When people ask me what a World Cup does for a country, I say it inspires the next generation. It’s great to host the World Cup but it’s more important what happens after.”

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