This week, David Beckham was knighted by King Charles. The former Manchester United star was recognised for services to football and British society. He had been open about his desire to receive the accolade for some time but it was felt that his alleged involvement in possible tax evasion had held him back.
It has been a long road for the former England captain, and he was apparently considered for a knighthood as early as 2011 and again more seriously in 2013. He was awarded an OBE back in 2003 and he was reported to have been growing increasingly impatient about not being knighted. It’s a tough life, David.
Nonetheless, his time has come. Despite scandals of various sizes, it is hard to argue that Beckham does not deserve his knighthood. The scandals have included: various driving offences, rumours of infidelity, leaked emails (that may or may not have been genuine) in which he is alleged to have called the honours committee “a bunch of c***s”, called the powers that be “unappreciative”, to have said “unless it’s a knighthood, f**k off”, and to have queried the OBE of singer Katherine Jenkins, saying “Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops, plus taking coke… F**king joke.”
Ignoring these issues, the 115-cap England international, who played for United, Real Madrid, Milan and PSG, has done a huge amount of work for charity over the years. He has also been a fine ambassador for English football, sport and the country in general. He helped London win the bid for the 2012 Olympics and was involved with various bids by England to host major football tournaments. A UNICEF ambassador for 20 years, he has more recently worked with The King’s Foundation.
Moving on from Sir Dave, a worthy (though perhaps too-keen) knight, various other English football legends have been knighted over the years. Here are some of the most notable.
Arise, Sir David Beckham. ✨
This morning at Windsor Castle, The King presented Sir David Beckham with a Knighthood for Services to Sport and to Charity. pic.twitter.com/BpRQJ1lIJG
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) November 4, 2025
Gareth Southgate
Southgate cannot have imagined, when he missed that crucial penalty against Germany in the semi-finals of Euro 96, that he would go on to lead his country at four major tournaments. He certainly would not have dared to dream he could help them make two finals, the semis and the quarters.
Often criticised, despite his incredible record, the former central defender unified the country, even if some did not like what they felt was his “woke” character. Knighted in the 2025 New Year Honours, Southgate is also an Honorary Yorkshireman, which surely means just as much to the Watford native!
Bobby Robson
Being England manager is not a bad route to becoming a Sir, though Steve McClaren, Sam Allardyce, Graham Taylor and several others didn’t quite get there! Robson died in 2009, at the age of 76 and was an almost universally popular figure. Like all England managers, he took his fair share of flack while in the job, but almost all fans came to love his personality and passion, especially later in life.
He was a superb manager too, though, and as well as winning silverware in England, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain, he also took England to the quarters and semis in consecutive World Cups.
Alf Ramsey
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The only England manager (of the men’s senior team, at least) to have won a major trophy, Ramsey is perhaps the most deserving man on this list. Knighted in 1967, just months after England won the World Cup, Ramsey also led England to a third-place finish at the 1968 Euros.
Like Robson, he also won silverware with Ipswich, while he was a fine player too. He won both the First and Second Division titles playing for Spurs in consecutive years. Amazingly, he repeated that exact feat as a manager with Ipswich 11 years later.
Walter Winterbottom
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Winterbottom was officially the first England manager, the side having been managed part-time by an FA official with the help of a coach prior to his appointment in 1946. He led them for almost 16 years and guided the Three Lions to the last eight of the 1954 World Cup.
Bobby Moore
England’s skipper for the 1966 World Cup triumph was knighted at the same time as his manager. Moore was an incredible defender, one of the best ever, and was captain of the Three Lions from 1964 to 1973.
Bobby Charlton
Charlton won the Ballon d’Or and the World Cup in 1966 – not a bad year. He helped Manchester United win the league title in 1966/67 and the European Cup the following season. The 1960s, then, were not a bad time for the man who scored 49 times in 106 games for England. He was not knighted until 1994, recognition of his role in the World Cup and wider football services with Man United.
Other English Footballing Knights
There are too many to detail here but the following have also all received the honour of a knighthood:
- Trevor Brooking
- Sue Cambell (Damehood)
- Philip Carter
- Tom Finney
- Geoff Hurst
- Stanley Matthews