Sir David Beckham arrives in the Royal Box prior to the Gentlemen's Singles first round match between Fabio Fognini of Italy and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on day one of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)placeholder image
Sir David Beckham arrives in the Royal Box prior to the Gentlemen's Singles first round match between Fabio Fognini of Italy and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on day one of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) | Getty Images
David Beckham just can’t hide his love for Newcastle United after making Champions League prediction.
Newcastle get their European campaign underway on Thursday night as Spanish giants Barcelona visit St James’ Park in their Champions League league phase opener. It is the second time in three seasons the Magpies are competing in Europe’s most elite competition, though this is their first time under the new format.
Eddie Howe’s side will play eight matches - all against different opposition - as opposed to a four-team group where they play each team twice. United were drawn into the ‘group of death’ last time out with Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan, but finished bottom.
Their campaign started well with a draw at the San Siro and a 4-1 win over PSG on Tyneside but back-to-back defeats to Borussia Dortmund, a controversial 1-1 draw in Paris and a 2-1 loss to Milan on the final matchday saw Howe’s men bow out at the group stage.
However this time around, Newcastle will be hoping to go one better and qualify for the knockout stage. To do that, they must avoid finishing between 25th and 36th once the league phase has concluded at the end of January.
Newcastle take on Barcelona, Benfica, Athletic Club, and PSV Eindhoven at St James’ Park, and travel to Belgium to face Union SG, Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen and to France twice to face Marseille and PSG.
David Beckham names Newcastle United as his Champions League surprise package
While it isn’t ‘group of death’ levels, the Magpies’ fixture list is regarded as difficult but Manchester United and Real Madrid legend Beckham is predicting Howe’s men to surprise a few.
Beckham told CBS Sports: “I think people are already writing Newcastle off. They’re a good team and I think they’ve got some good players. They’re very together as a team, as fans and as a club and I think they could surprise a few people.”
David Beckham has already shown his love for Newcastle United
Beckham has always spoken highly of Newcastle after admitting to Classic Football Shirts in November 2023 that he had a soft spot for the club growing up
"Newcastle always had good shirts, to be honest,” Beckham said. “I've always loved Newcastle as a club, I love the fans, I love the way they are. We played up in Newcastle for England and they were amazing.”
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And after the Magpies ended their 70-year domestic trophy drought in March by beating Liverpool in the League Cup final, Beckham was among the celebrities to congratulate them.
Beckham wrote on Instagram: “Amazing moment today for a club with some of the best and most loyal supporters in the game... congratulations to all the Geordies.”
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