David Beckham is to receive the editor’s special honour at this year’s GQ Men of the Year Awards.
The footballer also appears as the cover star of the magazine’s October issue, which is one of this year’s GQ Men of the Year awards special edition covers.
The honour was awarded to English actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen last year by the magazine’s editor, Dylan Jones.
Asked what advice he would pass on to his children in the next 20 years, he tells the magazine: “To work hard, simple as that. I tell the kids they have to make choices, sometimes give things up. If your friends are going out on a Friday night, maybe you can’t.
“Maybe you’ve got tennis practice the next day or you’re in the studio singing, like Cruz, or you’ve got a shoot, like Brooklyn. That’s where your focus needs to be.”
The sports star and businessman and wife Victoria have four children – boys Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz – and daughter, Harper.
He also said that anything outside of football during his playing career at the time was just “a bonus” as he was so focused on sport.
He tells GQ: “To be honest, all I ever wanted was to be successful as a footballer. Obviously, I always did things outside of the game and outside of my footballing career that were slightly different at the time.
Gearing up for the #GQAwards tomorrow, we're reliving Jeff Goldblum, @HaigClub Icon winner, and his incredible golden tux #GQPartner pic.twitter.com/EX2QgXulC5
— British GQ (@BritishGQ) September 2, 2019
“I think it’s more acceptable now to do some of the things that I did, some of the covers, some of the photo shoots, some of the sponsorships, but I think my focus back then was to just win trophies, be successful with Manchester United and never leave United.
“Anything outside of the game was just a bonus.”
This year’s awards ceremony will be hosted by Welsh actor Michael Sheen.
Another person being honoured this year is teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg, who is being given the Game Changer Of The Year Award.
The accolade has been created especially for the 16-year-old who will receive the award via a video link.
The annual event hosted by the glossy men’s magazine will be attended by a host of A-list guests, with previous attendees including the Prince of Wales.
The GQ Men Of The Year Awards, in association with Hugo Boss, will take place on September 3.