Football superstar David Beckham will host “Beckham and Friends”, an alternative live broadcast during the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League as part of CBS Sports’ coverage of Europe’s top club competition.
Beckham and Friends will air during the second leg of both Champions League semi-finals in 2025 and 2026, as well as the final in both years. The show is broadcast Biggest+ complementing CBS Sports’ broadcast of the competition, Beckham will engage with figures from the worlds of sports, entertainment and more as the games play out.
Beckham, who won the Champions League in 1999 with Manchester United, announced the news in a surprise guest appearance on the UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show, surprising hosts Kate Abdo, Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards when he announced the entered set. . He took the opportunity to preview ‘Beckham and Friends’, which will feature a mix of people from the worlds of sports, entertainment and more.
‘I think every time [it] will be a different personality and person, a friend of mine,” he said. “I like to watch the game and I like to watch the game in a certain way, and usually it’s either with my kids or with my friends, so It’s going to be something like that where I sit there, watch the matches, commentate on the matches with friends, talk about the match.”
The retired England international said some guests are queuing but did not want to share their names, although he said one may be in the entertainment industry. He did confirm it would not be Tom Brady, the former NFL star he sat next to during Birmingham City’s victory over Wrexham in League One action on Monday.
Beckham also used the surprise guest appearance to deliver presents from his bee garden and banter with the hosts who told the group that “the Manchester United fan” Abdo is his favorite after Richards asked and told him to explain the expletive-laden chants that Brady received that evening. rather from Wrexham fans. Liverpool legend Carragher also teased Beckham about United’s failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League competition, citing the fierce rivalry between the two clubs.
Shortly before he left, he also went into analyst mode, offering a preview of sorts for “Beckham and Friends” as he talked about his former club, Real Madrid’s, chances to repeat as Champions League winners.
“It’s been a tough start to the season for them,” he said. “They obviously brought some new players and of course saw Kylian [Mbappe] Come in, with any great team, it’s going to take him time to find that balance, but I’m excited. I’m excited to watch Real Madrid this season. Once they come together, I think it will be incredible.”
He also gave a positive assessment of Mbappe’s impact at Real Madrid, shortly before scoring his first Champions League goal for the club in their 3–1 win over Stuttgart.
“He’s a special player, a special person,” Beckham said. “So I don’t think he’s going to have any problems.”