I’m not a fan, but this is a good story, good for his PR machine and will no doubt push his career towards “humanitarian of the year” or a Nobel Peace Prize of some distinction.
I do think his Academy thing he has going is top notch.
I know there are going to be a lot of people speculating on his ulterior motives, but I don’t really care about why he’s doing it, it’s a great way to end his career and will silence the critics who are saying he’s only in it for the money.
Drogba is credited with playing a vital role in bringing peace to his country.[108] After Côte d’Ivoire qualified for the 2006 World Cup, Drogba made a desperate plea to the combatants, asking them to lay down their arms, a plea which was answered with a cease fire after five years of civil war. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move that helped confirm the peace process.[109] On 24 January 2007, Drogba was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Goodwill Ambassador. The UNDP were impressed with his previous charity work and believed that his high profile would help raise awareness on African issues.[110] In September 2011, Drogba joined the Truth, Reconciliation and Dialogue Commission as a representative to help return peace to his home nation.[111] His involvement in the peace process led to Drogba being named as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine for 2010.[112] Drogba’s charity work continued when, in late 2009, he announced he would be donating the £3 million signing on fee for his endorsement of Pepsi for the construction of a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan. This work was done through Drogba’s recently created “Didier Drogba Foundation” and Chelsea announced they too would donate the fee for the deal toward the Foundation’s project. Drogba decided on building the hospital after a recent trip to the Ivorian capital’s other hospitals, saying “…I decided the Foundation’s first project should be to build and fund a hospital giving people basic healthcare and a chance just to stay alive.
I believe they tried to. Apparently one of the PR guys saw Drogba in the street, ran up behind him and tapped him on the arm. Unfortunately, Drogba was in game mode, so fell over and rolled off down the street 8)
Still Drogba does more without the PR was my point
hmmm. not sure about this. i’d wager that in africa, everyone (with access to media) knows about drogba whereas beckham might well be less of a news story. no suprise that african news has no profile here and most people are unaware of drogba’s actions.
either way, hats off to both of them. they’ve both long since earned enough to never need another pay day again.
‘Sfunny, you make that sound like it’s a bad thing……. Beckham speaks and the world is likely to listen. Gary_C speaks and no-one really notices. Good on him for getting the publicity.
Why announce that he’s ‘playing for free & donating his salary to charity’? Why not just do it & not publicise it?
Eh maybe ,It might just make other overpaid sports stars think about doing the same. He seems to be dammed If he does something good , bear In mind he has to put up with looking at Posh’s greetin face everyday .
I think this is brilliant, but then again I’ve been a fan or at least felt for him since the times idiotic soccer fans were burning effigies of him in the street for missing a goal.
However, I’m sure that donating 3m to charity will do his tax bill some serious favours 😉
Yeah cos beckham really struggles to get publicity…….
He didnt have to do it. There are many others with much more who do much less.
Regardless of the motivations, the result is that a children’s charity will be receiving some much needed funds which is what matters.
Why announce that he’s ‘playing for free & donating his salary to charity’? Why not just do it & not publicise it?
Cynical, me?
If Beckham nips out to get bog roll, it makes the papers. I’m sure that him donating a chunk of cash like this would have found it’s way into the public arena….why not ensure the message is managed properly?
I hate football, and footballers in general. But Beckham has done a fantastic thing here.
Who cares if it’s a publicity stunt? Or a move to get a knighthood? I’m sure the charity receiving his money won’t care less. At the end of the day they need the money, he has the money and doesn’t need more. Good on the bloke. No point being cynical about it.