David Beckham says he respects Zinedine Zidane’s decision to pull out of a charity game following the Paris terror attacks.

The France legend was due to play in the match at Old Trafford alongside a star-studded line-up to raise funds for Unicef.

But he withdrew along with compatriots Patrick Vieira and Christian Karembeu to mourn the 129 people who lost their lives in the French capital on Friday night.

And Beckham said his heart goes out to the families of the victims.

The former Manchester United midfielder said: "I understand why Zizou [Zidane] took the decision not to play. He was very respectful to me and I totally understand, he's a friend first off.

"He's a very passionate man and, being French, what happened really hit him.

"It was terribly devastating to see the scenes, unfortunately we see it around the world and have seen it recently.
"On behalf of myself, the managers, players, and fans we all send out our condolences to those who lost loved ones in Paris and our heart goes out to everyone in France."

Beckham and son Brooklyn played together as a Great Britain and Ireland XI side beat a Rest of the World team 3-1 in the match.

Michael Owen scored a brace while Paul Scholes was also on the scoresheet after heading in Beckham's cross for the team, which was managed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Dwight Yorke netted for the Rest of the World side, which contained Ronaldinho, Luis Figo, Robert Pires and Michael Ballack and were managed by Carlo Ancelotti.

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