David Beckham has said he believes the proposed football Super League poses a “danger” to the “game we love”. 

The former England captain has spoken out to criticise plans for the so-called Big Six of the English Premier League to break away and form a European Super League with other teams from around the continent.

The new setup will guarantee clubs a place in the Super League regardless of their performance, while making it harder for other clubs to break through, with critics arguing it will create a closed franchise of elite clubs.

Posting a picture of himself with football fans on Instagram, David wrote: “I’m someone who loves football. It has been my life for as long as I can remember. I loved it from when I was a young child as a fan, and I’m still a fan now.

“As a player and now as an owner I know that our sport is nothing without the fans.”

The former Manchester United and LA Galaxy player, who now owns US team Inter Miami CF, continued: “We need football to be for everyone. We need football to be fair and we need competitions based on merit. Unless we protect these values the game we love is in danger…”

Among the UK teams who’ve signed up for the Super League plans are Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Super League said it would eventually aim to secure 15 founding members, which also include Real Madrid, Real. AC Milan and Barcelona.

UK football legends like Gary Lineker and Ian Wright have voiced their disapproval of the plans, with the latter branding them “absolutely shameful”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said he thinks the Super League would be “very damaging for football”.

James Corden also used the opening moments of his US chat show on Monday night to condemn the plans, claiming the “owners of these teams have displayed the worst kind of greed I’ve ever seen in sport”.