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Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
'I congratulated David Beckham on knighthood - I'm not sure about his reply'
Sky Sports presenter Alex Aljoe playfully suggested she's sceptical about David Beckham's claim that he recalls their interview from his time at Real Madrid. Aljoe, who's covering the Club World Cup for DAZN, bumped into Beckham during the tournament's opening match. And she shared an amusing anecdote about their encounter on The Rest Is Football with Micah Richards, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer. The tale of Beckham's supposed sharp memory quickly descended into hilarity, as Richards joked that the football legend was "definitely lying". The well-known Sky Sports journalist recounted her experience at the inaugural game, where she reminisced with Beckham about an old encounter from his days in Madrid. Aljoe said: "Well, that opening game was amazing, they had an opening ceremony as well. [There were] fireworks, French Montana performing... then the players came out one by one, Beckham was there. Sorry, Sir David Beckham was there. "I congratulated him on his knighthood and asked if he remembered me from years ago, when I interviewed him at Real Madrid. He said, 'Yes', but the jury's out on that one." Richards couldn't help but reply: "He was lying. He was lying, he was definitely lying," before Lineker added with a touch of hilarity: "Knights don't lie, Alex. Knights of the realm do not lie!" Richards then cheekily offered to get in touch with the Manchester United icon for Aljoe, prompting Shearer to burst into laughter as he teased: "Listen to him, 'I can text him for you', what a k*** you are!" It comes after Beckham was honoured with a knighthood in King Charles' Birthday Honours, describing the accolade as a "truly humbling and emotional moment. "The 50-year-old said: "Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour. "To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true." He added: "I'm so lucky to be able to do the work that I do, and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment." Beckham's current focus is on his team Inter Miami, which faces a challenging match against Porto on Thursday evening, while Madrid gear up for their tournament opener against Al-Hilal on Wednesday night at 8pm.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I congratulated David Beckham on knighthood – the jury's out on what he said'
Sky Sports presenter Alex Aljoe was taken aback by Sir David Beckham's response to her Real Madrid question, as Micah Richards claims the former England international was "definitely lying" Sky Sports presenter Alex Aljoe hinted that she might not believe David Beckham's insistence that he remembers their interview from his playing days at Real Madrid. Aljoe, who is working for DAZN at the Club World Cup, came into contact with Beckham once more at the opening game of the tournament. She discussed the encounter on The Rest Is Football with Micah Richards, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer. The story about Beckham's great memory didn't take long to erupt into chaos, as Richards claimed the former Manchester United star was "definitely lying". The popular Sky Sports reporter delved into her experience at the first game, where she chatted with Beckham about a previous meeting from his Madrid days. Aljoe said: "Well, that opening game was amazing, they had an opening ceremony as well. "[There were] fireworks, French Montana the players came out one by one, Beckham was there. Sorry, Sir David Beckham was there. "I congratulated him on his knighthood and asked if he remembered me from years ago, when I interviewed him at Real Madrid. He said yes, but the jury's out on that one." Richards replied with a smirk: "He was lying. He was lying, he was definitely lying," which prompted Lineker to add: "Knights don't lie Alex. Knights of the realm do not lie!" Richards offered to contact the ex-United star for Aljoe, causing Shearer to explode into laughter as he said: "Listen to him, 'I can text him for you', what a k*** you are!" Beckham was recently awarded a knighthood in King Charles' Birthday Honours, a moment that the Premier League icon has called a "truly humbling and emotional moment" for him. The 50-year-old said: "Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour. "To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true." Beckham added: "I'm so lucky to be able to do the work that I do, and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment. "I'm so lucky to be able to do the work that I do, and I'm grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment." Next up for Beckham's Inter Miami squad is a tough test against Porto on Thursday evening, with Madrid taking on their opening game of the tournament against Al-Hilal on Wednesday night at 8pm. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer speak out on Trent Alexander-Arnold – 'So what'
Trent Alexander-Arnold made the bold decision to conduct his Real Madrid presentation speech entirely in Spanish, dividing opinion among Liverpool fans and pundits Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer both defended Trent Alexander-Arnold after being left astonished by his impressive Spanish during his Real Madrid unveiling. Shearer hit out at those criticising the defender for learning Spanish during his time at Liverpool, saying: 'So what?" Alexander-Arnold joined the La Liga giants for a total of £10million – an £8.4m fee plus his remaining wages – after deciding not to extend his contract with boyhood club Liverpool at the end of this season. A move to Madrid was reportedly in the pipeline since the latter stages of the campaign, which only became more evident during his unveiling as a new signing earlier this month. The England full-back stunned fans and media alike by fluently reeling off his entire presentation speech in Spanish, while many others in the past have simply said: 'Hala Madrid." His impressive Spanish speaking skills led to some frustration back on Merseyside, as some Reds supporters were led to believe he had been planning his Madrid move long before this summer and had purposely run down his contract. On the other hand, former Match of the Day presenter Lineker, who spent three seasons playing for Madrid's rivals Barcelona in Spain himself, was left impressed by Alexander-Arnold's speech. He discussed it on The Rest Is Football podcast with Shearer, Micah Richards and Alex Aljoe, saying: 'His Spanish was pretty good, wasn't it boys? 'Quick mention for him by the way. That was genuinely very, very good Spanish. There was pressure on him there as well. He certainly didn't look like he was reading it from some script. And even if he was reading it, his pronunciation was really good, wasn't it?' Spanish speaker Aljoe added: 'It was so good. I just want to defend him because I wrote on social media that I was really impressed and got so many comments below saying, 'Oh he's only been learning for the last five years.' 'But for him to stand up and speak in Spanish… Even speaking in English at one of those things is intimidating, Florentino Perez sat in front looking at you. But he was brilliant. It takes a lot to do that.' Shearer chimed in with: 'Even if he had been learning, so what?! Good for him if he was learning Spanish.' Lineker continued: 'Honestly, the way some people turned on him saying, 'It just shows you he was probably learning for a year or two because he knew he was going.' 'Well, maybe he did have some kind of career plan. That's okay! It's his life. It's his career. I was incredibly impressed. It takes a lot of effort, that.' Alexander-Arnold has since admitted that he had developed a base level of Spanish ahead of his move. He told the Real Madrid YouTube channel: 'The meetings and the tactical talks are all in Spanish so they take some getting used to. But in terms of day to day conversations, it's easy. 'I have a decent base level of Spanish so I can hold a decent conversation with the lads and likewise they have a very good understanding of English so it's easy to communicate.' The 26-year-old has been training under new Madrid manager Xabi Alonso and could play his first game for Los Blancos against Al-Hilal on Wednesday evening at the Club World Cup. Real paid Liverpool around £8.4million up-front to allow Alexander-Arnold to represent them in the competition sooner than his contract expiry on June 30.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Gary Lineker issues special message on Rest Is Football after losing his wallet
Gary Lineker kicked off the most recent instalment of The Rest Is Football with a special shoutout to a London cabbie. The 64-year-old presenter and pundit left his wallet in the back of a black taxi around three months ago, fretting overnight as to whether or not to cancel his credit cards. However, much to Lineker's delight, the very next morning he went downstairs to see that his wallet had been returned through his letterbox. And speaking on his podcast, The Rest Is Football, alongside co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards plus guest Alex Aljoe, Lineker detailed the incident. He said: "Before we get into all the action though, and I'm going to ask you all how you're doing in just a sec, but I just need to do something quickly. About three months ago I left my wallet in the back of a black taxi and I thought overnight, left it and left it. "And then I thought, 'I'll wait until the morning before I cancel my cards.' And I woke up the next morning, came down the stairs and my wallet had been pushed through the letterbox. So that was, 'Yes! Thank you very much.' "So three months later my son George orders a taxi from home, and he comes outside. I see George out there and the taxi driver goes, 'Hey Gary, did you get your wallet back?' I went, 'It was you?!' "I said, 'I was trying to find out who it was on the history and all of that sort of stuff but I couldn't, I just wanted to say thank you.' [He was like], 'No, I don't want anything, I don't want anything!' "I said, 'Okay, well you're taking George now, let me give him something to give you a big tip with.' He went, 'No, absolutely not. All I want is a mention on The Rest Is Football.' So Jim, the Fulham fan, thank you very much indeed." Never one to miss a beat, Shearer replied: "What I would say to Jim is that he's seen more than we have because we've never seen your f***ing wallet." Laughter erupted from Richards and Aljoe before Lineker replied: "Very good form!" Lineker parted ways with the BBC after a tenure stretching back to when he took over hosting duties of Match of the Day in 1999 from Des Lynam. The former Leicester City star announced late last year that he would be stepping back from the flagship football highlights show but continuing to work with the BBC for their FA Cup and 2026 World Cup coverage. However, plans changed last month when Lineker announced that he would cut ties with the broadcaster completely following upset caused on social media. Lineker shared a post on zionism online which included a rat emoji - something that is historically tied with anti-Semitism. And although he claims he did not see the illustration, and says that he would never have shared it should he have, he decided that it was the right time to step away from the BBC. He explained: "As I've said, I would never consciously repost anything anti-Semitic – it goes against everything I stand for. "However, I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Metro
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Metro
Lineker surprised Arsenal didn't rival Chelsea & Man Utd for 'exciting' striker
England legend Gary Lineker is surprised Arsenal did not push harder to sign Liam Delap and believes the striker could be the 'missing ingredient' for Chelsea. Chelsea beat off strong competition from Manchester United to lure Delap away from Ipswich this summer, with the Blues capturing the 22-year-old forward for a fee of just £30million. Though Arsenal had been tentatively linked, it's understood the Gunners decided to focus their efforts on other attacking targets overseas, namely RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko and Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres. Delap has put pen to paper on a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge, tying him to the west London giants until 2031. Cleary desperate to make an immediate impression under Enzo Maresca, the young centre-forward has turned down the chance to represent England at the upcoming Under-21 Championship in order to play for Chelsea at the Club World Cup. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. 'It's an interesting one. I thought maybe Arsenal would go for him. Perhaps they did? I don't know,' ex-England, Tottenham and Barcelona striker Lineker said on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football. 'But Chelsea have got their man. We said many times this season that Chelsea also needed back-up for [Nicolas] Jackson up top, or an alternative. 'I think he's a young, exciting centre-forward. 'I saw someone say they saw a bit of a young Alan Shearer in him. Shearer with a full head of hair! 'I think that's the only thing that Chelsea were missing really.' Lineker has been impressed by Delap's 'intelligent' movement on the pitch and is confident the attacker has the mentality to succeed at Chelsea. 'Jackson's got something in him, but his finishing isn't as good as a could be and if Delap does realise his full potential, that might just be the missing ingredient. We'll see,' he added. 'What I see in him is movement which is intelligent, I see someone that's not scared… I know that sounds ridiculous for a centre-forward but I judge it on when he's goes one-on-one with the goalkeeper, I think he'll finish, he'll score. 'Certain players you get that and now he's got to prove it at a bigger club. I know he was at Manchester City, but he didn't really feature much there and he has done at Ipswich. 'He's now got to step into the limelight, it's a big club, Chelsea, they won a Chelsea, of course, this season as well, so he'll go into this season with a very good side. 'He'll have to deal with pressure, but you get a feeling that it's not going to faze him and he's a very, very good finisher. 'That's the most important thing, having a cool head in those circumstances, and I think Chelsea have got a good one. 'You can never be sure, obviously, but I've obviously been singing his praises for quite a long time.' Alan Shearer was similarly upbeat about Chelsea's 'smart' piece of transfer business and feels Delap is 'only going to get better' over the coming years. 'I like him as well. For £30m, I think it's a no-brainer,' the ex-Newcastle and England striker, the Premier League's all-time top goalscorer, chimed in. 'I think Chelsea have got a great deal and I gather that there were other big clubs in for him. More Trending 'For Chelsea to get him at that price, for me, that's very, very good business because he's only going to get better. 'I think he's a bit old-fashioned, he's like a throwback from what a centre-forward was maybe 20 or 30 years ago where they were all in fashion: aggressive, horrible to play against, doesn't mind mixing it up and can run in behind. 'Obviously, he scores goals. The number of goals he scored in a really struggling team, that is only going to get better. 'At his age, his ability he's got now… I think he's got a really bright future and I would have liked to have seen Newcastle get him, but for whatever reason he's decided to go with Chelsea and I think that's a really smart move for them.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: PSG urged to sign £65m Arsenal star and Liverpool's 'biggest transfer flop' MORE: Frustrated Liverpool star fires warning to Arne Slot over his future MORE: Viktor Gyokeres headache for Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal as new rivals enter race
