To be cynical about David Beckham's latest antics

[Perriwinkle]

Yes, we've heard how absolutely marvellous it is that he's going to be donating the wags he'll earn during his 5 month stint at Paris St Germain to a French children's charity (and don't get me wrong I'm sure it is for the charity) but I really don't swallow this whole altruistic Francis of Assisi line.

I've heard people referring to him as "a real class act" but if he really was a "class act" would he not have done this privately, without the fanfare and circus of a full blown press conference in front of the world's media - which, incidentially, most normal footallers, irrespective of how good they are, never have when they sign for new other clubs. Most seem content to manage with a quick photo opportunity holding up the new club's shirt.

Does this deeply altruistic act have anything to do I wonder, with the fact that his wife has a burgeoning career as a fashion designer and would love to be lauded in Paris and taken into the hearts of the French?

Does it have anything to do with furthering the "Beckham brand"?

Does it have anything to do with wanting a knighthood?

Does it have anything to do with boosting an already planet-sized ego?

Does it have anything to do with Beckham's relentless worldwide charm offensive and the seeming obsessive desire to be adored?

I'd say a resounding yes to all of the above.

Realistically there is a huge personal and financial benefit to be derived by David Beckham from making what is, in reality, the equivalent in relative monetary terms of about a £20 charity donation to your average person.

He used to just sound thick too but yesterday I noticed that an annoying smugness appears to have crept into his voice

[redlac]

£96 for a polyester shirt with his name on the back?? Would anyone ACTUALLY spend that on a football top?? Grown French Men??

What a mad world

[Perriwinkle]

hackmumwhat rubbish, of course they wouldn't. Everyone knows that footballers get paid obscene amounts of money. Why is Beckham any differenet?

The reserve is true here in fact, many other footballers do lots of charity work but because they don't make a big song and dance about it they aren't feted and lauded like Sir/Lord Beckham.

Mario Ballotelli paid for a lot of strangers' petrol the other day and everyone just called him prick for doing it.

Can you imagine if Beckham had done that? The fawning headlines would have had us all reaching for our sick buckets and he'd probably have received notification of his knighthood through the post the following day

[Perriwinkle]

Anyway, yes, money good for charity but giving it away infinitely more valuable to the brand than keeping it.

Absolutely spot on Puffpants

[Southeastdweller]

Mumsnet favourite, India Knight, gives her thoughts on it in her column today:

www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/comment/columns/indiaknight/article1206410.ece?shareToken=c7acfef3291d06e8a44d2673d4864642

I don't think there's a paywall today.

[TheCarefulLaundress]

back behind paywall now. what pray tell did India say?

[Southeastdweller]

I'm a subscriber but don't think I'm allowed to copy and paste her column however the gist of dearest India's column was her deploring the terrible meanies on Twitter who accused Beckham of donating the money for P.R reasons and she also thinks that private and public donating shouldn't be a competition.

[Perriwinkle]

Whatever that woman, whoever she may be, said, the fact remains that the charity donation was part of a hugely cynical PR exercise, which totally negates any honorable action on David Beckham's part in my view.

It was designed to benefit not just David Beckham personally but also his corporate sponsors; Fly Emirates (who sponsor PSG), the American MLS, and not to mention the Qatar Investment Authority who own Paris St Germain and have ambitions to become involved in MLS in the States, where there are huge untapped markets and resources. They can use Beckam as a broker, for which his palms will be liberally greased.

Do you think that Paris St Germain, a decent competitive football club would have signed an average at best has-been like Beckham for anything other than marketing/commercial/business reasons? The fact he's been signed for 5 months should tell you all you need to know. He'll sell a few shirts, they'll use him to further their ambitions and he'll earn an absolute packet. The charity donation thing just drew further attention to the lucrative, mutually beneficial business union.

Yes, it's all very nice that the charity was a happy beneficiary in all this jiggery pokery but please, don't be fooled by Beckham's true motives.

Football is now an extremely peripheral element of David Beckham's skillset, and has been for many years. It's now just a means to an end.

These days he's like one of those people that are famous but you can't really think what on earth for - a bit like one of the cast members of TOWIE, or Danni Minogue.

Instead of giving him a knighthood perhaps they could make him the Patron Saint of Marketing and PR.

[MechanicalTheatre]

Perriwinkle to say Beckham is only famous for being famous is a bit off. He's one of the best footballers England has ever produced.

[zoobaby]

You could go to a hundred countries where football isn't massively popular (believe it or not, such places do exist). I reckon you'd get people recognising Lord Beckham in at least half those places. His celebrity fame eclipsed his football fame a decade ago.

[LittleEdie]

YABU

[BoneyBackJefferson]

Perriwinkle

All I can really tell from your posts is that you do not like David Beckham.