Brooklyn Beckham's 'sad' decision and how dad David showed his true colours in response

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Brooklyn Beckham has finally addressed the long-suggested rift with his parents, David and Victoria, in a scathing six-page statement . And a decision once made by the 26-year-old provides an insight into his severed relationship with his father.

It had long been suggested that Brooklyn and wife Nicola Peltz had become estranged from the iconic family on the back of their 2022 wedding. Neither Brooklyn nor Peltz attended Victoria's 50th birthday and both were absent as Manchester United and England icon David received a knighthood . Another 50th birthday faux pas and some social media blocking followed.

On Monday, the footballer's son finally broke his silence , releasing a lengthy, volatile statement that included a string of accusations . Brooklyn claims his parents controlled most of his life, and his wedding was "hijacked" by his mother. He explained explicitly: "I do not want to reconcile with my family."

But earlier in his childhood, Brooklyn made the decision not to follow his father into football, and David's response says a lot about the amicable relationship the two once shared.

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At the age of 15, Brooklyn decided he would not emulate his father by becoming a professional footballer. Having been part of Arsenal's academy, he stepped away from football in 2014.

Since then, Brooklyn has pursued a career in modelling as well as photography, but David admitted in a 2015 interview that it broke his heart to learn the reason why his eldest left the game.

"One of my boys turned around to me the other day and said, 'Daddy, I'm not sure I want to play football all the time,'" he told ABC . "It broke my heart a little bit.

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"He said, 'Every time I went to the field, I know people are saying, This is David Beckham's son,' and if I am not as good as you, then it is not good enough.'"

This affectionate response was mirrored by Brooklyn in 2022 when he spoke to Variety . The United icon's son admitted he was "sad" to give up football but insisted his father just wanted him to be happy.

"My dad wasn't sad, because he was like, 'I just want you to be happy,'" said Brooklyn. "But of course, I was sad. It was my whole life since I was literally two."

This father-son bond has now been well and truly detached on the back of Brooklyn's eruptive statement, in which he painted a very different picture of his father.

Alongside other allegations, Brooklyn wrote: "For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.

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"Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they'll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.

"My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn't stopped. Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children.

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