A statue of David Beckham unveiled outside his former club LA Galaxy has been mocked for its perceived resemblance to chef and TV star Gordon Ramsey.
The statue, a first for a Major League Soccer (MLS) player, honours the former England captain for his contribution after becoming one of the first big European names to join the league.
Beckham played a key role in boosting the league’s popularity and paved the way for other global football stars to join.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at Dignity Health Sports Park in California on Sunday,Beckham said: “Today is a dream come true.”
However, as images of the statue of the former England captain began to circulate on social media, it was ridiculed for its resemblance to Gordon Ramsay.
One Twitter user, Jesus-Luis-Mendez, wrote: “Tell me why it looks like David Beckham is standing in front of his dad Gordon Ramsay’s statue”
Another, known as misanthrope, wrote: “David Beckham looks like a neater version of Gordon Ramsey.”
It is not the first time a statue of the football star has been mocked and a likeness of the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star standing in the Pariwat Temple in Bangkok is also the subject of ridicule.
The ex-England captain is not alone, with a slew of other footballers also immortalised in statues perceived to bearing little resemblance to them.
A bust of Christiano Ronaldo unveiled at Madeira Airport in 2017 was likened to The Head from popular children’s TV show Art Attack.
A year later, a statue of Mohamed Salah on display at the World Youth Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh was compared to musicians Leo Sayer and Art Garfunkel.
During the unveiling ceremony for Beckham’s latest statue, former Galaxy team-mate Robbie Keane, NBA legend Kobe Bryant and US rapper Snoop Dogg paid tribute to the football star,
The event came a day after the 43-year-old helped open a soccer field for underprivileged youth in downtown Los Angeles.
“Taking care of the next generation of soccer stars in this country is really important and we did it in a community that really needed support and a safe environment for children,” he said at the ceremony.
