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David Beckham laughed off boos in New York as he refused to pick a winner for Sunday’s World Cup final.
The former England captain has been a near-ever-present at the tournament in North America, and made headlines as he cheered on his country’s win over Norway with wife Victoria.
Then, when England lost to Argentina in the semi-finals on Wednesday, Becks was consoled by son Cruz, 21, as he sat in the stands in Atlanta with his head in his hands.
It would have been easy to pick England to take the trophy had they reached the final, but Beckham instead had to pick between European champions Spain and his old enemy.
The 51-year-old was speaking alongside Brazil legend Kaka at Fanatics Fest in New York, and was asked who he thought would take home the trophy on Sunday.
He said: ‘Oh my goodness. Obviously I played in Spain, so I have a huge affection for Spain as a country and obviously for their football team. I think they’ve done an exceptional job this World Cup and they deserve to be in the final.
David Beckham (left) was booed in New York after he failed to pick a winner for the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain
Beckham has been a near ever-present at the World Cup, cheering on his former side
‘And with Argentina, they have Lionel (Messi). Like I speak about Ricardo (Kaka), I’ll speak exactly the same about Lionel because he’s an exceptional player, but an exceptional person with the right values and he treats everyone the way they should be treated. I’m going around the houses…’
As he was pushed for an answer, Beckham replied: ‘I’m going to sit on the fence. I don’t know who’s going to win. I want Lionel to do incredibly well because he’s an exceptional person and player. But Spain are going to be tough to play against.
‘I’m not going to say who I think is going to win. I’m just going to sit on the fence and enjoy the game.’
The crowd then booed in Beckham’s direction, with the former midfielder and Kaka both laughing off the jeers.
Beckham then joked: ‘I haven’t been booed for a while. I’ve got booed a little bit the other night. I wasn’t expecting it here.’
Beckham, who is close friends with Messi, who plays for Beckham’s Inter Miami side in the States, was famously sent off in the 1998 World Cup against Argentina when he kicked out at Diego Simeone before Argentina won the round of 16 clash on penalties.
And he was left devastated as England lost to Argentina again in midweek, after he and the team were drowned out while singing the national anthem due to opposition boos.
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