He has long been the golden boy of English and world football, but ‘Goldenballs’ David Beckham may just have lost his shine.
The former Manchester United legend, a veteran of World Cups past, has agreed to become the face of the 2022 tournament in Qatar according to The Sun.
Under normal circumstances eyebrows probably wouldn’t be raised. After all, most tournaments of this nature require the odd figurehead or two for promotional reasons and the like.
The issue for Beckham is his work with the charity, UNICEF.
To then be the front man for a country with a dubious human rights record is a clear conflict of interest.
The outlet acknowledge that Beckham will be paid £15m a year over the next 10 years in order to not just promote the World Cup, but to enhance Qatar’s offering post-tournament.
That’s a lot of money to turn down, though The Sun also estimate his and his wife Victoria’s net worth to be an astonishing £339m, so it’s not as if he needs it.
Clearly, the carrot of £150m has turned Beckham’s head, and that hasn’t sat well with fans of the footballing icon.
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