Manchester United icon Eric Cantona has publicly spoken out against David Beckham's decision to become an ambassador for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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The former France international is one of a few ex-players who have criticised the World Cup being awarded to Qatar due to the country's poor human rights record, and has previously stated his intention to boycott the competition altogether.
It is, therefore, unsurprising that Cantona has taken a strong stance in condemning Beckham's role in promoting the tournament in the Middle Eastern country, after the former England captain was reportedly paid a handsome sum of money to become an ambassador for the showpiece.
Cantona, who played alongside Beckham in Manchester, believes his ex-colleague has made the wrong decision if he is aware of Qatar's human rights abuses.
"I wouldn't do it at all. I'd do completely the opposite. In January 2022, I started to say that," he told The Athletic.
"Maybe I was the first one. But I'm free to do it and, of course, an ex-player paid to do this kind of thing… it could be they don't know what's happened there.
"If they know it, I think they did wrong. I think they made a big mistake. A big, big mistake.
"If you have a player who says, 'I will boycott the World Cup' you say, 'Bravo' but you can't condemn a 20-year-old player, who has a 10-year career, who lives in a world surrounded by people from football 24 hours per day, but do speak about the federations, speak about the politicians, who have the power to say: 'No, we do not go to the World Cup.'
"We can't be disappointed if players don't want to boycott the World Cup, because at the top, the politicians, the presidents, the federations, the ministers… they have the power to boycott it."
Last week, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that Beckham has already pocked more than £10 million (R199 million) since agreeing to the country's offer.
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