What happened to my secret snap of David Beckham?

There is one footballer who will be under particular scrutiny at the Qatar World Cup – but not because he’s playing in it. David Beckham retired as a player, aged 38 in 2013, but nine years on his stature has continued to grow. The former England captain’s profile is so high that those tasked with the tricky job of getting positive publicity for Qatar agreed to pay him a reported £10 million to plug the tournament. 

This is the story of my role as a cog in the wheels of the media machine that helped propel Beckham to this position – and of one particular incident, involving surreptitious snaps of him sitting on a sun lounger. But first some context.

Twenty years ago, Beckham was also arguably the most scrutinised footballer at a tournament: the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. England qualified for that tournament courtesy of what was probably Beckham’s single greatest moment.