A day after appearing as the public face of England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup, David Beckham's clean, role model image has been dismissed by former Bayern Munich star Stefan Effenberg – who says the former England captain lacks Roy Keane's sense of "fair play".
Effenberg, asked by German newspaper Bild about his duels with Beckham, mocked the Milan loan star for his "underhand" way of playing.
"I played against Beckham and Keane. But Beckham was the more underhand of the pair. Keane was hard and fair. He came from in front, knocked you away, everything was wonderful.
"But Beckham always came from behind, in the Achilles, I didn't like that. You didn't see him, and suddenly he clobbered you from behind in the tendon. No, Beckham was underhand."
Beckham and Effenberg faced each other in the Champions League final in 1999 – a game Keane missed through suspension – when United netted twice at the death to defeat Bayern.