David Beckham really want a cigar
DAVID BECKHAM is today exposed as a secret smoker – who sneaks into his garden for a crafty cigar after wife POSH BARRED him from lighting up in their LA mansion.
The ex-SPICE GIRL, 35, was forced to ban him because he has acquired a taste for luxury hand-rolled Cubans while in America.
Last night a family friend said of the England soccer icon, 34: “He loves the taste. I think he likes the image too. Lots of Hollywood stars smoke them.”
The revelation comes barely a week after the superstar – who now plays for US team LA Galaxy – was pictured using an asthma inhaler.
Becks – famed for keeping himself superfit – has told friends it was nothing to do with his smoking. He was said by the pal to mistakenly see cigars as LESS harmful than ciggies.
The chum admitted: “It’s strange to see such an athlete as Becks smoking. But he doesn’t have any other vices.
“Of course, he only smokes the best – they’re usually fifty-dollar-a-pop Cohibas.”
His secret craving echoes the lyrics of the Spice Girls hit Wannabe – in which they sang: “I really really really wanna zig-a-zig-ahh.”
But Victoria – who famously used to smoke cigars HERSELF – does not want him puffing away in front of sons BROOKLYN, ten, ROMEO, seven, and CRUZ, four.
Becks is believed to have begun smoking soon after arriving in LA – where Cuban cigars are seen as a forbidden pleasure at glitzy parties.
They are outlawed under the US trade embargo on the island’s communist regime.
A friend of Becks said: “The smoking is just his way of relaxing as he nears the end of his career. There is no doubt he is very fit for his age and takes exceptional care of himself.”
The star’s spokesman tried to play down his love of cigars, saying it was “not true” to describe him as a smoker.
The aide claimed: “He may have had a puff on a cigar once or twice in the past to make a celebration but that is it.”
Ace’s academy shutting
DAVID Beckham’s flagship football academy is closing in January.
The multi-million pound centre’s five-year lease on its site in Greenwich, South London, is not being renewed.
Owners AEG, who also control Beckham’s US club LA Galaxy, are planning an Olympic training centre there.
Now Beckham, whose academy has taught 100,000 kids, will take the project on tour around Britain. He launched the academy in 2005 with Ј2million of his own money.
The 60 staff have been told it is closing but most have been promised new jobs.
Last night a spokesman for Beckham said: “We always knew the lease was coming to an end. The academy is now moving beyond one site to reach more children.”
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Beckham and his wife Victoria
