David Beckham is set to be awarded a knighthood in King Charles’ Birthday Honours.
The former England football captain, 50, was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003.
But BBC Sport has been told he is now in line to receive further recognition for both his football career, and his contributions to British society, with the list of recipients to be published next week.
Beckham played 115 times for his country as well as for Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, Paris St-Germain and AC Milan, retiring in 2013.
Beckham was reportedly first nominated for a knighthood in 2011.
In 2017 several British newspapers printed details of leaked emails in which Beckham allegedly criticised the honours system and the honours committee.
A spokesperson for Beckham said at the time that the emails were “hacked”, “doctored” and “private”.
The former footballer married singer and fashion designer Victoria Beckham in 1999.
The couple share four children – Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper Seven.
Beckham played a key role in securing the London 2012 Olympics, and has been an ambassador for Unicef since 2005.
Unicef – which supports vulnerable children around the world – launched ‘The David Beckham Unicef Fund’ in 2015 to mark a decade’s partnership between the two.
Beckham became an ambassador for The King’s Foundation in 2024, supporting King Charles’ education programme and efforts to ensure young people have a greater understanding of nature.
He is also part-owner of League Two side Salford City, as well as president and co-owner of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami in the United States.
He helped set-up the Inter Miami CF Foundation – a community driven not-for-profit enterprise that looks to empower underserved communities, using football as a catalyst.
“He is a great ambassador for football and the country,” Beckham’s former England team-mate Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport.
“We all see the charity work that he has done for many years and I am sure he will continue to do that.
“Globally he is a massive icon for any charity to work alongside and he makes everyone proud by raising a lot of money over the years.
“You don’t get to his level worldwide if you don’t work hard. He was persistent and kept going to get the reward he deserved.”
A government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation on honours.”
Beckham’s representatives declined to comment.
