RIP brand Beckham: Hacked emails suggest ex-England captain called gong bosses 'unappreciative c****' after knighthood snub, refused to donate $1m to Unicef declaring 'it's my f***ing money' and railed against tax bill advice
- Former star accused of calling the honours committee 'unappreciative c****'
- Emails include allegation he demanded £6,685 from the charity for a flight
- His image rights team also planned to send him to space to increase sponsorship
- He was advised that his financial affairs could be costing him a knighthood
- A gold laptop was allegedly kept off social media as 'idiots will think we're being showy'
- It is also alleged he fiercely backed 'stay' in Scottish referendum for his image
- His team emailed The Jonathan Ross Show to angle questions about a gong
- Beckham's representative said the emails had been 'hacked and doctored'
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 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 Mr Oliveira furious 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.
Other mails show the two advisers stopped Beckham from posting a picture of a gold- plated laptop on Instagram, stressing it went against his 'man of the people' image.
Beckham was keen to share he photo with his 32.6million followers. He sent the picture to Oliveira captioning it: 'First one in the world...Great present.'
Oliveira replied: 'Nice will keep that one of (sic) social media as then the idiots will say we're being showy.'
The leaks also reveal an exchange between Simon Oliveira and the producer of ITV's Jonathan Ross Show in 2013.
Oliveira wrote: 'Maybe Jonathan should ask about the knighthood and say he should get it. What do you think? David is up for it.'
And Beckham was duly asked about such an honour on the show, with Ross speaking in glowing terms about him.
The presenter said: 'We haven't heard the announcement of the honours this year, so they haven't tipped you a wink or anything?'
He added: 'I'm going to stick my neck out and I'm convinced you are going to get it, I don't see how they could possibly pass you over.
But this has been denied by the TV presenter, who tweeted: 'I wasn't asked to ask any questions. There were no restrictions or requests. Absolute nonsense.'
Beckham was England captain when he was awarded the OBE in 2003 for his services to football
He was also allegedly warned by his advisers that certain financial schemes he was involved in her damaging his chances of further honours.
Oliveira warned him that he may need to alter certain monetary decisions, such as going into business with a Qatari investment fund and using loss-making companies to reduce his tax bill.
Oliveira said: 'Disappointing as the situation wasn't properly explained by them just a flag.
'These are all things we need to bear in mind now. For example your co investors in Miami, how will that affect things like this?'
But an angry Beckham allegedly responded:'Don't give a f–k anymore I'll decide who my investors are not these c****. They are f****** c****'.
'I pay taxes and always have done so they have no right to do this. C***s.'
Oliveira replied: 'Genuinely the problem is that HMRC for the moment they are winning that battle of public opinion.'
Messages also suggest he fiercely backed the 'stay' campaign during the Scottish referendum in order to appear to be backing a United Kingdom, and improve his chances of becoming Sir David.
Unicef has sprung to the defence of its ambassador, claiming Beckham has sacrificed his time and personal income to help change the lives of millions of impoverished people.
A spokesman said: 'As well as generously giving his time, energy and support to help raise awareness and funds for Unicef's work for children, David has given significant funds personally.
'We are extremely proud of the 7 Fund and all it has achieved for children,' the charity said.
The spokesman added: 'Since it launched in February 2015 it has raised millions of pounds for Unicef programmes and reached millions of people around the world with crucial messages about our work for very vulnerable children.'
'Unicef has become aware of media reports relating to 7: the David Beckham Fund for Unicef,' the charity said.
'Some reports relate to alleged private correspondence between our ambassador and other parties, which we have not seen and cannot comment upon.'
Beckham is also claimed to have said to Oliviera: 'Unless it's a knighthood f*** off', according to The Sun.
His image rights firm also developed a plan to send him into space to attract sponsorship.
It is also claimed that in 2013, Tess O'Sullivan, head of sales at Doyen Sports, teamed up with Space Adventures, a US company that arranges private space flights.
The prices discussed for sponsoring Beckham in space would be between £400,000 and £10million.
The pitch was to be made to brands such as Yahoo, Google, YouTube and Facebook, and selling TV rights to Sky and Fox.
A memo said: 'Brands could promote products through 'zero-gravity stunts' in space. The sponsorship deals could also include time with DB for associated advertising campaigns, personal appearances and corporate speaking.'
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.'
The emails have divided the public, with many coming out in support of the former England captain, while others have expressed concern at his conduct.
Among those to condemn Beckham is MailOnline's editor-at-large Piers Morgan, who put out a series of tweets about the story.
He first said: Oh. My. God. RIP Brand Beckham...'
This was followed up with: 'Nobody will be envious of David Beckham by tomorrow. They will all be sickened by him.'
Piers also said he believes that: 'We can forget about 'Sir David Beckham' ever happening.'
And he also came out in support of Katherine Jenkins, saying she is 'one of the nicest, most decent people in showbusiness.
'Beckham's attack on her is particularly repulsive,' he added.
But UNICEF's Deputy Executive Director, Justin Forsyth came out with a vehement defence of Beckham.
He tweeted: 'For over 15 years David Beckham has been a dedicated and passionate @UNICEF ambassador, helping many thousands of children.'
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