Beckham's Crowned Moment

He had long dreamed of becoming a sir and King Charles III made it a reality when he announced his birthday's honours list on Friday, marking the end of a decades-long journey travelled with his Spice Girl wife Victoria, creator of the eponymous fashion brand.

The honour, one of the highest bestowed by the UK state, "is a powerful symbolic marker", Marie Agnes Parmentier, professor of marketing at the University of Montreal and author of several papers on "Posh and Becks", explained to AFP.

It "reinforces his image as a respectable, committed, and, first and foremost, British man," she added.

The knighthood could present new opportunities for the 50-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, "particularly in diplomatic, charitable or political spheres", said Parmentier.

The former free-kick ace, from a modest East London background, diversified his career after retiring from football in 2013, but success was the result of planning long before he hung up his boots.

"I knew my career was going to end at some point and I wanted to have a career after football," he said in the documentary series "Beckham", which aired on Netflix in 2023.

- AFP