David Beckham breaks silence on $27m Qatar controversy

The ex-England captain broke his silence on Friday in response to being known as out by comic Joe Lycett, The Sun studies.

Lycett protested towards Beckham’s A$27 million-a-year settlement to be an envoy for the tiny gulf nation.

He went viral for his money-shredding stunt final month after he issued an ultimatum to Beckham for the Qatar deal, the place homosexuality is against the law.

If Beckham didn’t pull out of the deal, Lycett mentioned he would shred A$18,000.

It was later revealed that Lycett had in actual fact donated it to an LGBTQ+ charity.

But a spokesman for Beckham: “David has been involved in a number of World Cups and other major international tournaments both as a player and an ambassador and he has always believed that sport has the power to be a force for good in the world.

“Football, the most popular sport globally, has a genuine ability to bring people together and make a real contribution to communities.

“We understand that there are different and strongly held views about engagement in the Middle East but see it as positive that debate about the key issues has been stimulated directly by the first World Cup being held in the region.

“We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy towards all people and that progress will be achieved.”

Revealing what actually occurred with the $18,000, Lycett mentioned: “I haven’t quite told you the whole truth – the truth is the money that went into the shredder was real, but the money that came out was fake. I would never destroy real money.

“I would never be so irresponsible, in fact, the 10 grand (A$18,000) had already been donated to LGBTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the initial tweet last week.

“I never expected to hear from you, it was an empty threat designed to get people talking.”

– This article initially appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.