Brooklyn Beckham’s ‘sad’ decision as dad David showed his true colours | Football | Sport

Brooklyn Beckham has at last broken his silence on the widely speculated family rift with his parents, David and Victoria, through a damning six-page statement. A particular choice the 26-year-old made years ago offers a telling glimpse into his fractured relationship with his father.

Speculation had long swirled that Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz had grown distant from the celebrated family following their 2022 wedding. Neither Brooklyn nor Peltz were present at Victoria’s 50th birthday celebrations, and both were notably missing when Manchester United and England legend David was awarded a knighthood.

On Monday, the footballer’s eldest son finally spoke out, issuing a lengthy and explosive statement packed with serious allegations. Brooklyn alleges his parents dominated much of his life, claiming his wedding was “hijacked” by his mother.

He stated unequivocally: “I do not want to reconcile with my family.”

Yet looking back to his younger years, Brooklyn made a pivotal choice not to pursue his father’s footballing legacy, and David’s reaction speaks volumes about the close bond they once enjoyed.

At just 15 years old, Brooklyn opted against following in his father’s footsteps as a professional footballer. Having been part of Arsenal’s academy, he walked away from the sport in 2014.

Since then, Brooklyn has embarked on a career in modelling and photography. However, David confessed in a 2015 interview that it was heart-wrenching to discover why his eldest son had abandoned football.

“One of my boys turned around to me the other day and said, ‘Daddy, I’m not sure I want to play football all the time,'” he revealed to ABC. “It broke my heart a little bit.

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“He said, ‘Every time I went to the field, I know people are saying, This is David Beckham’s son,’ and if I am not as good as you, then it is not good enough.'”

Brooklyn echoed this sentiment in 2022 when he spoke to Variety. The son of the United legend admitted he was “sad” to give up football but insisted his father simply wanted him to be content.

“My dad wasn’t sad, because he was like, ‘I just want you to be happy,'” Brooklyn shared. “But of course, I was sad. It was my whole life since I was literally two.”

However, this father-son bond appears to have been severely strained following Brooklyn’s explosive statement, which painted a starkly different image of his father.

Among other allegations, Brooklyn wrote: “For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.

“Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they’ll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.

“My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn’t stopped. Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children.

“They were adamant on me signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since.”