David Beckham targeted by hackers who release personal emails claiming he called gong bosses 'unappreciative c****' after knighthood snub - and refused to donate $1m to charity, saying 'It's my f****** money' 

  • Former star accused of calling the honours committee ‘unappreciative c****’
  • Beckham’s representative said the emails had been ‘hacked and doctored’
  • Emails include allegation he demanded £6,685 from the charity for a flight

By Peter Allen and Kate Pickes For Daily Mail

Published: 18:28 EST, 3 February 2017 | Updated: 19:52 EST, 3 February 2017

David Beckham was last night embroiled in a furious row after he was targeted by hackers who leaked emails which alleged he used his charity work as part of a campaign to win a knighthood 

David Beckham was last night embroiled in a furious row after he was targeted by hackers who leaked emails which alleged he used his charity work as part of a campaign to win a knighthood.

The former England captain was accused of calling the honours committee ‘unappreciative c****’ for its failure to make him Sir David as well refusing to bankroll the charity.

A series of damning emails were released by Football Leaks yesterday, the sporting equivalent of Wiki Leaks.

Last night Beckham’s representatives dismissed the claims, stating that the emails had been ‘hacked and doctored’ from a private account.

The cache of emails include allegations that Beckham, an ambassador for Unicef, demanded £6,685 from the charity for a business class flight for him to attend an event in Asia, even though his sponsors had provided a private jet.

Football Leaks claimed Beckham admitted in emails that his charity work was part of a conscious effort to win an honour.

A close adviser also reportedly said his work with UNICEF produced a ‘halo effect’ for the former star, European media, including L’Equipe and Der Spiegel, reported.

Football Leaks, the sport equivalent to Wiki Leaks, also claimed the 41-year-old reacted angrily when friend and PR advisor Simon Oliveira suggested he put one million dollars (£800,000) into a prize-giving Unicef dinner in Shanghai.

Beckham allegedly replied: ‘I don’t want to put my personal money into this cause,’ claiming he added: ‘To pour this million into the fund, is like putting my own money in. If there was no fund, the money would be for me. This f****** money is mine.’

French investigative site Mediapart, which published the material from Football Leaks, alleged that Beckham wanted to use his personal fund – named 7 after his former squad number – to promote his business activities.

‘Humanitarian causes were just a stepping-stone for his personal affairs, and to project his image among advertisers,’ claimed a source close to the leaks.

Beckham - who has an estimated networth of £280million – allegedly wrote an email to his PR representative, Simon Oliveira furioud that classical star Katherine Jenkins had been handed an OBE after he missed out on a knighthood in 2013, The Sun reported

They claim he wrote: ‘Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. F****** joke,’ noting she had admitted to taking cocaine in the past.

The former England captain was accused of calling the honours committee ‘unappreciative c****’ for its failure to make him Sir David as well refusing to bankroll the charity 

He allegedly continues to rant at the honours committee, saying he ‘expected nothing less’ and asking ‘who decides the honours?’

‘It’s a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of got something like this ten years ago,’ the email allegedly said Football Leaks claims to handle around 18 million confidential documents handled by a consortium of international media, including Mediapart in France.

A spokesperson for Unicef said it was aware of the reports and was ‘looking into them’.

‘UNICEF will be engaging with David Beckham and his team on this,’ she said.

THE ALLEGED MESSAGES

Beckham to his long-time PR man Simon Oliviera about putting his own money into his charity: ‘I don’t want to put my personal money into this cause…To pour this million into the fund, is like putting my own money in. If there was no fund, the money would be for me. This f***ing money is mine.’

Beckham allegedly demanded UNICEF pay for a £6685 business class flight despite his sponsors splashing out on a private jet which he used. Unicef said: ‘He flew in a private jet and the Funds were not going to pay for a ticket that he did not use.’

Beckham to Oliviera after Katherine Jenkins was given an OBE and he missed out again: ‘Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. F****** joke.’

Beckham to Oliviera about the British honours committee: ‘They’re a bunch of c**** I expected nothing less…Who decides on the honors?

‘It’s a disgrace to be honest and if I was American I would of got something like this ten years ago.’

Oliveira to Beckham’s agent and best friend David Gardner after the OBE snub: ‘This gives us even more reason to work this year on Unicef, the armed forces, and other charitable commitments….We need to remain dignified if asked [about the honours], but if you want me to work up something cutting I will work up one, but my advice is it’s not productive.’ 

Beckham is also claimed to have said to Oliviera: ‘Unless it’s a knighthood f*** off’, according to The Sun.

Beckham was England captain when he was awarded the OBE in 2003 for his services to football.

Speaking about the Queen ahead of her 90th birthday on 21 April, he said: ‘Collecting my OBE was one of the proudest moments.

‘That day was special for me because I brought my grandparents with me, it made me proud that I could bring them to somewhere that they worshipped for their whole lives.

He added: ‘Meeting the Queen, it doesn’t get better than that.

‘You can feel the emotion, I can personally feel the emotion, because I just love everything about our Queen and what she represents. We all look for role models, we all look for leaders.

‘I’m privileged and proud that we have the number one leader.’ 

A spokesperson for David Beckham said: ‘This story is based on outdated material taken out of context from hacked and doctored private emails from a third party server and gives a deliberately inaccurate picture.

‘David Beckham and UNICEF have had a powerful partnership in support of children for over 15 years. The David Beckham 7 Fund specifically has raised millions of pounds and helped millions of vulnerable children around the world. David Beckham has given significant time and energy and has made personal financial donations to the 7 Fund and this commitment will continue long term.

‘Before establishing the 7 Fund, David had supported UNICEF and a number of other charities over many years, including donating his entire earnings from PSG during his time playing there.

‘David and UNICEF are rightly proud of what they have and will continue to achieve together and are happy to let the facts speak for themselves.’   

Comments (363)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now