David Beckham’s Son Romeo Signs With Premier League Brentford’s B Team

While Tom Hanks and Gwyneth Paltrow continue to nonsensically defend themselves within the confines of the “Nepo Baby” debate currently gripping Hollywood, Romeo Beckham, the son of Manchester United legend David Beckham, is putting his family name to good use as he follows in his father’s footsteps.

On loan from MLS NEXT Pro club Inter Miami CF II, the second oldest of the Victoria/David Beckham brood recently joined Brentford’s B team in hopes of ascending into England’s top flight of football. The move secures the young midfielder a spot on the EPL club’s reserve squad, allowing him to compete in the Premier League Cup and matches overseas.

“I’m very proud and very happy to be here,” reads Romeo Beckham’s statement on Brentford’s official website, obtained by CNN. “I came here at the start to keep fit during the off season. The chance then came to come on loan here, and I’ve never been so excited.”

While some might roll an eye at the opportunity given to the son of one of the sport’s best, Romeo Beckham has earned his shot at the bigs fair and square, at least to some extent. While playing in the MLS NEXT Pro league, he made a total of 20 appearances for Inter Miami II, scoring two goals alongside his league-best 10 assists. He added to his resume in July by garnering a substitute position for Inter Miami — a team co-owned by his pops — in the club’s friendly against La Liga titan Barcelona.

“It was a fun season [in the USA], and there were a lot of ups and downs, but I’m excited to come here and see what I can do,” added the 20-year-old Beckham. “I love how we have the opportunity to play at different levels, both abroad and here.”

Despite the advantage of having a famous father like England’s all-time great, Romeo Beckham’s trajectory hasn’t exactly been all rosy from the jump. Sure, his regal footy bloodline helped him enter Arsenal’s development academy, but he was released in 2015 at just the tender age of 12. According to his dad, the disheartening turn of events resulted in Romeo entirely avoiding the sport for five years as he fed an appetite for other passions such as tennis and modeling.

“The other day Romeo turned around to me and said he didn’t want to play football anymore,” David Beckham revealed to "Radio Times" in 2015. “Part of me was devastated, but part of me was relieved, too. He’s got other passions and I like that.”

On the surface, it might now appear like the road is already paved for Romeo’s EPL trajectory, but after Brentford shut down its fledgling development academy to start its B team in 2016, there are little to no guarantees. For starters, Brentford’s B team does not belong to any league, nor does the club have a set schedule of matches. It must organize its own fixtures, and since players are picked up and dropped often, team members’ positions are transient to say the least, and generating a cohesive team synergy could prove difficult. While Brentford recently reopened its academy last summer, it’s more of a technicality to abide by Premier League rules. Still, for any parent, watching a child grow and chase his dreams is a sight to behold and a truly precious experience.

“Exciting start to the year,” wrote David Beckham in an Instagram story, featuring a photo of the two Beckhams as Romeo held a Brentford jersey. “Now the hard work & fun begins. Proud of you mate.”

During his future tenure with Brentford’s B team, continuing to develop and refine his skillset will be of paramount importance to the younger Beckham, and under the tutelage of manager Neil MacFarlane and assistant coach Sam Saunders, he can achieve just that.

“We go across to play some men’s teams and it’s a good experience,” continued Romeo Beckham in his Brentford statement. “[I want] to get the experience to play against men and get physically stronger and we’ll see how that can progress me.”