It was not the Beckham World Cup opener we expected. This time, it was Brooklyn not David kicking off.
Having explosively claimed his parents obsession with Brand Beckham had turned his life, and relationships, into a photo-opportunity, the Beckham’s eldest son seemed to capitalise on the row with an advert for a food delivery service joking he was watching the World Cup at home.
The advertisements weren’t just controversial but are said to have left his famous parents “devastated and inconsolable”. Still, they rallied. The World Cup in the end proving Brooklyn’s point almost too well.
Whatever Brooklyn’s food delivery deal earned him it’s small change compared to the estimated £19m pay cheque that David Beckham is said to be earning from World Cup this summer – with endorsements from Pepsi, McDonald’s, Adidas, Home Depot, Bank of America, Stella Artois, Verizon and Lay’s – on top of his Inter Miami stake and a net worth that’s just passed £1bn.
Yet, it’s not just cash the World Cup has gifted the Beckhams, it’s also provided the perfect platform from which to Brooklyn-wash their family brand.
Publicly, David and Victoria have said little. But behind the scenes, sources say they’ve been left “devastated” and “horrified” by their eldest son’s claim that they’d been “trying endlessly to ruin” his relationship with wife Nicola Peltz – including his account of his mother’s alleged hijack of the couple’s first dance at their wedding. Victoria has since told the Wall Street Journal, without directly addressing the allegations, that she and David have always tried to be the best parents they can be.
If the Beckham family started this summer somewhat in the shade, they’ve reclaimed the spotlight during this World Cup – treating the football stadiums of North America as the perfect stage upon which to remind the world of the collective starpower of their brand.
One likes to imagine Victoria, head of battle operations, leading the charge: telling the family to get their England shirts on (although, not her obviously) and head to the terraces – presumably not Posh’s favourite place, given the blank expression she exhibited in a now viral photograph from the Norway match.
Victoria and David were joined by daughter Harper and son Romeo during England’s quarter final match against Norway in Miami on 11 July (Photo: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty)At England’s victorious quarter-final clash with Norway, Clan Beckham were all present and correct (minus one) cheering and singing their hearts out to Wonderwall – a family moment quickly uploaded to the gram. The timing was pointed: it was Harper’s 15th birthday weekend, almost a month after she’d been photographed turning up at Brooklyn’s Beverly Hills home with a handwritten letter, only for no one to answer the door. A move that the the prodigal Beckham later described as “choreographed for the cameras”.
“Thank you @england for giving our country these moments,” David wrote beneath a picture of him fist-pumping the air, a snap also shared by Victoria who called it a “special moment tonight in Miami with my family and for our country” – alongside more images of her smile, back-slapping brood. It made the single snap Brooklyn posted from his home look pretty lacklustre. 1-0 to the fam.
For Wednesday’s semi-final in Atlanta, the Beckhams assembled in their private box in co-ordinated clobber – looking like a more fun version of the royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony. After standing united to sing the National Anthem, later Victoria threw herself into David’s arms to celebrate England’s goal, perhaps conscious of the need to avoid another meme moment.
After all, the Beckhams, who famously sat on matching gold thrones during their 1999 wedding, have carved a place as football royalty. Similarly to the Windsors, however, Brooklyn’s absence cast an undeniable shadow over their lineup, with the parallels between the self-exiled Peltz-Beckhams, and Harry and Meghan seeming ever sharper.
But David appears to have won the PR battle with Brooklyn because he has refused to engage in one, said Lauren Beeching, a celebrity crisis PR. “David has said almost nothing, called it a private matter, and kept turning up to do his job at the biggest sporting event on earth. Brooklyn put the rift in a sponsored advert, and the moment a family estrangement becomes ad copy, the public stops seeing pain and starts seeing a campaign, and sympathy moves accordingly.”
Brooklyn Beckham was last seen publicly with his parents in October 2023 when the family put on a united front at the premiere of the Netflix documentary Beckham (Photo: Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage)Indeed it may not be apparent to everyone in the UK but across the pond the Beckhams have become mega stars – their position sealed last month when David was given the ultimate accolade of a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.
“He’s genuinely broken America – and is one of the few Brits who can really say that”, considers sports writer and cultural commentator David Matthews, “He’s transcended football – and he’s pulled it off purely through mass exposure – he doesn’t do commentary like some former players, he doesn’t even do some keepy-uppys when he does an ad and he does fewer interviews than ever but despite that, his profile is bigger than it’s ever been”.
For Matthews, Beckham’s appeal is “he’s authentic, he’s carried his football fans into becoming Mr Hollywood. And despite his tattoos, and the Rebecca Loos stuff, he still has a wholesomeness to him”. One no doubt Americans appreciate. A country without any snobbery over his accent and who can’t recall the era of his squeaky voice.
It’s most startling – and perhaps admirable – that the Beckham’s have enjoyed such a World Cup triumph because once the tournament was David’s lowest ebb. Sent off during the 1998 Argentina match, people hung effigies of him in the street. Perhaps it’s this, and his relentless work ethic in climbing back to the top that gives fans so much respect for him.
It’s certainly an irony Brooklyn seems to neglect that his attempt to swipe at Brand Beckham’s World Cup glory with his pointed ad campaign, only works because he’s a Beckham himself. His notoriety, his profile, every business he’s tried to build trades on the very name he claims is smothering him. He’s not escaping Brand Beckham by attacking it publicly, he only proves how dependent he still is on it – and that his parents have taught him so well.
Additional reporting by Matthew Bailey.
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