The emails, allegedly sent by Beckham, were released on the website Football Leaks, and contain details of his reluctance to put his own money into his charity work and his failed attempt to be knighted. A spokeswoman for Beckham said the emails had been taken out of context, and his team referred to the leak as “stolen information”, according to The Guardian.

"This story is based on outdated material taken out of context from hacked and doctored private emails from a third party server and gives a deliberately inaccurate picture," his spokeswoman said in a statement. 

These allegations clash directly with Beckham’s usual image of a charitable family man. In his reaction to news that he would not be knighted, Beckham uses expletives in his description of the honors committee in one of the emails.

Read also: Victoria and David Beckham pay $40,000 a day to the taxman

The controversy has been dubbed “Beckileaks” by the media, in reference to the website Wikileaks. The Daily Mail dedicated four pages to the "shame of Saint Becks," although they also acknowledged that Beckham had been a victim of a "blackmail plot".

The main topic of the emails is Beckham's work with UNICEF, where he is a global ambassador. The leaked emails suggest that Beckham had billed the organization for a flight he didn't need to take, and was hesitant to contribute his own money to the charity.

In a statement, UNICEF said it could not comment on the emails themselves, but defended Beckham's work for the organization. "As well as generously giving his time, energy and support to help raise awareness and funds for UNICEF's work for children, David has given significant funds personally,” the statement read.

Reuters reportedly was not able to verify the source of the emails. (sul/kes)

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