Former footballer David Beckham has opened up about his Jewish heritage during an appearance on a panel, while he also mentioned the recent signing of Lionel Messi.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, who now co-owns Inter Miami in MLS, who have recently signed Messi, has said that he is very proud of his Jewish background.

Beckham was speaking to Ben Winston at the Lira Winston event at St Johns Wood Synagogue when he pleased the crowd by speaking so fondly of his religion.

"I am part of the Jewish community and I am proud to say it," Beckham began.

"My grandfather always made sure we would keep up with certain traditions.

"We went to bar mitzvahs and weddings and I would wear a kippah.

"Every Saturday morning, I used to go to see my grandfather. You'd walk in the house to my grandmother preparing chicken soup and matza balls and latkes.

"We always kept to those traditions; it was always about the family coming together and spending time together."

Beckham discusses Messi's move to Inter Miami

Beckham also spoke to the crowd about the recent acquisition of Messi for Inter Miami.

"A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to thousands of messages on my phone, I was in Japan at that point and the news had come out that Lionel was coming to Miami," he said.

"My dream from the word go was to bring the best players in the game to Miami wherever they were in their career. I made that commitment to our fans.

"So, when you hear that one of the best players, if not the best player, who has won everything in the game, and who is still a great player and still young and doing what he is doing, wants to come play for my team, it was a massive moment.

"It's an exciting time, although it has not been officially announced yet."