Email embarrassment gets Beckham's back up

David Beckham on Saturday blasted reports that he used his children's charity work to boost his public image and chances of getting a knighthood from Britain's monarchy.

A spokesman for the soccer icon claimed "hacked and doctored" private emails had given a "deliberately inaccurate picture".

The former England and Manchester United midfielder, who retired in 2013, was the subject of a "Football Leaks" probe by the European Investigative Collaborations network, a consortium of 12 European media organizations, including France's Mediapart.

Citing emails between Beckham and his staff, the reports claimed he initially refused to put his own money into his humanitarian "7 Fund", tried to obtain reimbursement from the children's agency UNICEF for expenses met by his sponsors and was using his humanitarian work as a springboard for his profile.

Beckham was made an officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003, two steps below a knighthood.

In one email, he allegedly took extreme objection to the singer Katherine Jenkins getting the same OBE award in 2014, slamming the British honors committee.

He appeared to rail against not receiving a knighthood, and wrote: "If I was American I would have got something like this 10 years ago."

In another email, Beckham seemingly complained about being asked up front to match the highest bidders in a UNICEF auction, saying: "I don't want to do it and won't do it with my own money."

A spokesman for the 41-year-old said: "This story is based on outdated material taken out of context from hacked and doctored private emails from a third-party server and gives a deliberately inaccurate picture.

"David Beckham and UNICEF have had a powerful partnership in support of children for over 15 years."