David Beckham has shared birthday messages to two former Manchester United team-mates amidst an ongoing family controversy. The Beckham household finds itself embroiled in turmoil after Brooklyn issued a bombshell statement levelling several allegations against his parents.
Brooklyn's grievances stem from what he perceives as David and Victoria's efforts to manage the family's public image and their supposed attempts to "ruin" his marriage to wife Nicola Peltz. The celebrity couple's eldest son felt compelled to "no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth" regarding the family dispute.
The most striking allegation concerned Victoria's reportedly inappropriate dancing behaviour towards him at his 2022 wedding, alongside claims she had "hijacked" his first dance with Nicola. Brooklyn's remarks have triggered fresh scrutiny of the family, yet both David and Victoria have attempted to maintain their usual social media presence.
On Wednesday morning, David turned to Instagram to share birthday tributes to Nicky Butt and Phil Neville on his stories, whilst Victoria did likewise for Spice Girls colleague Emma Bunton.
David posted "Happy birthday mate" accompanied by a heart emoji and a photograph from his Manchester United days with Butt, as well as another captioned "Birthday Boy" featuring Butt celebrating a goal.
Beckham took to social media to wish Phil Neville and his twin sister Tracey, the ex-head coach of England's netball team, a happy birthday. He posted a photo of the siblings with the caption "Happy Birthday you 2" accompanied by two heart emojis.
A separate post saw Beckham sharing a throwback picture of him and Phil celebrating during their time at Manchester United.
Beckham was part of the legendary 'Class of 92', a cohort of United prodigies who graduated from the club's academy and went on to enjoy illustrious careers. The group comprised Beckham, Nicky Butt, the Neville brothers - Phil and Gary, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes.
The 'Class of 92' have maintained their camaraderie over the years and were once co-owners of Salford City FC. As of May 2025, only Beckham and Gary Neville remain as part of the ownership consortium, though the other four continue to be associated with the club and are often spotted at matches.
Phil Neville opened up about his bond with his former teammates on Gabby Logan's podcast, The Mid-Point: "The boys Nicky, Scholesy, Gary, Becks and Giggsy are my close friends - they're almost like my brothers," he said. "And I don't see them at all now. Obviously we're on WhatsApp groups and stuff like that, but they're getting on with their lives."
However, Nicky Butt confessed his discomfort with the 'Class of 92' label on the Football's Greatest podcast. "I cringe when I hear it. But it is what it is. It's what we've been known for since we all came through with Sir Alex Ferguson," he admitted to Scholes.
"And yeah, it's something that I do cringe about and it just becomes something probably bigger than it really was, if I'm honest with you."