David Beckham doesn't think it should be “strange” for gay footballers to come out.
The former England captain – who has Brooklyn, 23, Romeo, 19, Cruz, 17, and 10-year-old Harper with wife Victoria – thinks it was a “shame” that it was still a big deal for Blackpool player Jake Daniels to become the first current UK male professional footballer to reveal he’s attracted to other men earlier this month.
He said: “It’s a shame that when someone does come out that it’s such a strange thing.
“I’ve always felt that way about when someone does come out… it shouldn’t be.
“At the end of the day there will be a huge amount of gay people in sports and why should they be any different from anyone else.”
Beckham hung up his boots in 2013 and thinks there’s a lot less prejudice in the game now than there was in his playing days, though he warned there’s still improvements to be made.
He told the Evening Standard newspaper: “I played for 22 years, I saw a lot of racism and homophobia and do think it has changed. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Meanwhile, the Inter Miami owner and his family are planning to spend this summer in Florida to be with Romeo, who currently plays for his MLS soccer side.
He said: “Usually we love to be in Europe for the summer, but we like to be together as a family.
“(Romeo is) getting older now, so at some point he’s going to want to be with his girlfriend or mates and not want to spend the summer with us but he has no choice.”
And after Brooklyn married Nicola Peltz Beckham last month, David is hoping the couple will join their family over the summer too.
He said: “Brooklyn will be hopefully in Palm Beach.
“He’ll be able to hopefully come down with his new wife.”