David Beckham finally agrees deal to donate £3.4m PSG wages to French children's charities

 

John Lichfield
Friday 14 June 2013 20:01 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Two French children’s charities are about to receive a €4m (£3.4m) windfall from David Beckham, The Independent understands.

The former England captain promised that all his earnings while playing for Paris Saint-Germain – rumoured to be around €200,000 (£170,000) a week – would go to a children’s charity in the Paris area.

After lengthy wrangling with the French fiscal authorities, a deal has finally been reached on how the money can be handed over without landing the football club – or Beckham – with a large tax bill.

The money will be shared by the charity arm of the Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris and an association which sends “fun buses” packed with games and educational activities to children’s wards of French provincial hospitals.

At his introductory PSG press conference at the Parc des Princes on 31 January, Beckham said: “It’s something I’m not sure has been done before, and it’s something I’m very passionate about, children and the charity side of things, and so are the club.”

Since then, little has been said on the subject. The delay is believed to be due to tax issues.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in