Gary Lineker has hit back at Piers Morgan after he boldy claimed that David Beckham was "the most overrated player in history" and "wouldn't have got onto the Arsenal Invincibles bench."
This fiery Twitter debate began on Sunday evening, when Morgan posted a picture of Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr after he scored the first touchdown of Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 56-year-old TV personality wrote: "Great to watch a Beckham who can actually play football..." - a response that certainly got people talking social media.
Lineker then responded to Morgan's claims on Monday morning by saying: "You might dislike him, for whatever reason, but David Beckham was a great footballer. One of our finest."
Based on the replies to Lineker's post, there has been a mixed response to the argument.
Advert
One Twitter user wrote: "Not as good as he's made out to be, good player though but his legend is based on his celebrity status rather than his actual football."
Another commented: "David Beckham could not dribble but more than made up for it with is fitness, passing, crossing, positioning and shooting. He was an intelligent player who did not take or head but rarely lost possession or turned the ball over."
Morgan, meanwhile, was quick to respond to Lineker's opinion. "You might want to suck up to him, for whatever reason, but Beckham was the most overrated player in history," he said. "Wouldn't have got onto the Arsenal Invincibles bench."
And it didn't stop there. In response to Morgan's "overrated" claim, Lineker went on to list Beckham's wealth of achievements over the years during spells at Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Advert
"6 Premier Leagues, 2 FA Cups, 1 Champions League, 1 La Liga, 1 Ligue 1. Balón d’Or runner up. 115 caps for England, 59 as captain," the Match of the Day presenter noted.
"One of the best crossers of the ball the game has ever seen. Yeah, overrated."
Oh, there is more. Morgan snapped back with another controversial claim. "Take away the crossing & free-kicks, he was a fame-hungry snail with dumb haircuts who only won that much because of the truly great players around him."
Advert
Lineker then compared that statement to the goalscoring ability of Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Take away the crossing and free kicks?" he wrote. "That’s the equivalent of saying about Ronaldo 'Take away the goals'."
Morgan has yet to respond at the time of writing, but we will keep you updated as the day goes on. Blimey, this could be a long night.
Advert
Thoughts on David Beckham - the footballer? What he overrated?
Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Gary Lineker, David Beckham, Manchester United, Premier League, Real Madrid, England
