David Beckham's former team-mate involved in awkward moment when questioned over Brooklyn Beckham fallout

David Beckham made his name as a football icon and it’s difficult to keep his family affairs off the back pages. Even in retirement, he simply is that famous.

It’s been a troublesome week in that regard. Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, David and Victoria Beckham’s eldest child, disowned his parents in an explosive statement shared directly with more than 16 million followers on Instagram.

“I do not want to reconcile with my family,” he said. “I’m not being controlled. I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”

Awkward question mars another European football press conference

The first question that comes to mind when reading about such a rift, accompanied as it was by a series of disturbing and occasionally bizarre allegations, is of course what former Barcelona, Real Madrid and New York Red Bulls midfielder Albert Celades thinks about it.

There’s only one way to find out, and only one man with the gumption to get the job done. Where would we be without Sky Sports’ intrepid Gary Cotterill nipping at the ankles of people who just want to get through a press conference and go back to work?

Celades, a former teammate of David Beckham at the Bernabeu before he moved on to Real Zaragoza, is now the manager of Champions League outfit Pafos. They were in London on Wednesday to take on Chelsea, for whom Moises Caicedo’s late goal was enough to see off the Cypriot side.

If Celades thought the Blues were a tough opponent, he hadn’t reckoned with Cotterill’s relentless pursuit of the truth.

“I’ve got a bit of a cheeky question,” warned the reporter in Celades’ press conference at Stamford Bridge. “You obviously played for some time with David Beckham at Real Madrid. Have you been following his saga and what are your thoughts on it?”

The 50-year-old dodged the question in relatively good humour before it was shut down by Pafos’ press officer on the grounds that it had nothing to do with the club, with which Brooklyn Peltz Beckham has no documented previous affiliation.

“You are probably better not answering it,” replied Cotterill, referring a question he himself had asked just seconds earlier. “Probably wise.”

Cotterill is no stranger to getting right to the heart of the matter in press conferences with managers of English clubs’ opponents in the Champions League and Europa League.

In November 2024, with Sporting CP coach preparing to face Manchester City but also about to become the manager of Manchester United, Cotterill travelled to Lisbon to ask Amorim to answer a question in English.

“It’s like a cold shoulder to all your English fans,” said Cotterill when his request was declined.

“They’ve had about 25 minutes in Portuguese. We want ten seconds in English.”