“A big, big mistake,” Former Manchester United captain slams David Beckham for promoting Qatar at 2022 FIFA World Cup

Former Manchester United player Eric Cantona has claimed that celebrities serving as ambassadors for the Gulf nation is a blunder.


“A big, big mistake,” Former Manchester United captain slams David Beckham for promoting Qatar at 2022 FIFA World Cup

Eric Cantona criticizes David Beckham for promoting Qatar

Former Manchester United captain Eric Cantona has slammed ex-teammate David Beckham and other former footballers for serving as the ambassadors of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The tournament organizers have been chastised for the working environments of those who constructed the facilities and venues for the event, which took place this November and December.

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Beckham has been extensively attacked for agreeing to an agreement valued at £10-15 million per year to advertise Doha as a tourist location. Legendary players such as Tim Cahill, Cafu, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi Hernandez, and Ronald de Boer were ambassadors for the tournament.

Cantona and David Beckham won two Premier League crowns and the FA Cup together at Old Trafford between 1995 and 1997. In an interview with the Athletic, Cantona declared that he would not acknowledge a proposal to promote the Gulf nation, Qatar. He considers those funded made a “big, big mistake”. Cantona didn’t mince words when asked if he had deemed an akin role to promote the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“I would not do it at all. I do completely the opposite. In January 2022, I started to say that. Maybe I was the first one. But I am free to do it. And of course, an ex-player paid to do this kind of thing…It could be they don’t know what has happened there. Or, if they know it, I think they did wrong. I think they made a big mistake. A big, big mistake,” the former Manchester United player said.

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David Beckham’s Manchester United legacy

David Beckham for Manchester United

Beckham, arguably one of the finest English footballers of all time, spent ten seasons with Manchester United. In the interim, he spent a year on loan at Preston NorthEast. He then joined Real Madrid in 2003 and spent four seasons there. He shifted to MLS club La Galaxy in 2007, where he invested the succeeding five seasons of his journey. In the interim, he spent two brief loan spells at AC Milan in 2009 and 2010. After six months at PSG, he eventually called it quit in 2013.

Beckham is regarded as among his era’s finest and most distinguishable midfielders. He is one of the finest set-piece experts of all time. The former Manchester United sensation’s professional club tenure commenced in 1992 when he achieved his first-team breakthrough for Manchester United at 17. He clinched the Premier League six times with United, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.

The 2002-2003 season was his final in England, as he left for Real Madrid in the summer of 2003 after a falling out with boss Alex Ferguson. Beckham appeared in 265 league games for United, scoring 62 goals and providing 80 assists. He was part of some of the most talented squads ever to play football during his time at Real Madrid and Man United.

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