David Beckham tells Ballon d'Or ceremony Sir Bobby Charlton 'started everything' for him

David Beckham paid an emotional tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton at Ballon d'Or 2023 ceremony. Credit: David Beckham's Instagram

David Beckham has paid an emotional tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton saying he "owes him everything".

During Monday night's Ballon d'Or ceremony, Beckham credited Sir Bobby for his football career at Manchester United.

He said: "On a personal side Sir Bobby started everything for me, it's where it all began.

"I went to Sir Bobby's soccer school when I was 10-years-old, I won it when I was 11-years-old, and if it wasn't for Sir Bobby turning round to Manchester United saying you should watch this man I probably would never have played for Manchester United, so I owe him everything.

"He was my dad's hero, he's one of the reasons my middle name is Robert, after Sir Bobby, so he's very special in our household, he's very special around the world and we'll miss him dearly."

Sir Bobby Charlton's death was announced on Saturday 21 October. Credit: PA Images

Sir Bobby Charlton, 86, passed away on 21 October.

In 1953, at the age of 16, he joined Manchester United, and in 17 years as a player at the club, he went on to play 758 games and score 249 goals.

These were both records that were only broken by Ryan Giggs in 2008 and Wayne Rooney in 2017, respectively.

Sir Bobby was also a member of the 1966 World Cup winning England team which was when he also became the winner of the Ballon d'Or.

On stage in Paris, Beckham also spoke about the influence Sir Bobby had on "the world of football".

He said: "He was respected on the field for what he did for what he went through, for what he won, but he was even more respected off the field for what he stood for.

"The respect he had not just in Manchester, not just in England but around the world was truly incredible.

"He's going to be hugely missed, when we look up into the stands we used to always see Sir Bobby up there cheering us on, so he's going to be missed on that side.

"We sent our love and thoughts to Lady Norma, to his daughters and to his grandchildren, he will be missed greatly by the footballing world."

David Beckham wrote a poignant tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton on social media. Credit: AP
City and Haaland honoured at Ballon d'Or ceremony

Beckham's emotional speech came more than a week on after he shared a picture on Instagram of him as a child standing with Sir Bobby.

At the ceremony, Beckham presented the Men's Ballon d'Or award to Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi.

The 36-year-old beat Manchester City forward Erling Haaland to the award, winning the trophy for the eighth time in his career.