David Beckham not even in top 1,000 players - Waddle

Former England winger Chris Waddle says David Beckham is not one of the top 1,000 players of the last 40 years.

The ex-Manchester United midfielder is retiring at the end of the season.

"I would say he has been a good player, I wouldn't put him down as a great," Waddle, 52, told BBC Radio 5 live.

"You can go down a list of players from the Premier League or the 70s or 80s, whatever you want to do. I'll be honest, Beckham probably wouldn't be in the first 1,000."

Beckham v Waddle

	Beckham	Waddle
England caps	115	62
Major English trophies	8	0
Major European trophies	1	0
League titles	10	3

Beckham, 38, who signed a five-month deal at Paris St-Germain in January, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1991, making his first-team debut the following year and signing his first professional contract in 1993.

He went on to make 394 appearances for United, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League, and 115 for England.

"I think there have been a lot more talented players in the world. But he made the most of what he has got," said Waddle, who made more 100 appearances for four of his clubs - Newcastle, Tottenham, Marseille and Sheffield Wednesday - while winning 62 England caps.

"He has got a terrific image and used it very well. He never had a trick, wasn't particularly quick, but he was very good at set-pieces and deliveries, he made chances and made goals and was fantastic for clubs.

"He said the right things, he sold shirts, he put money in the tills wherever he went and conducted himself well."

Beckham became one of the world's most high-profile sportsmen during his time at Old Trafford - and a global celebrity following his marriage to Spice Girl Victoria Adams in 1999.

He signed for Real Madrid in 2003 and won a La Liga title in 2007 before switching to the United States with . He also spent time on loan at AC Milan.

"As a player I would say he was a fantastic crosser of the ball, a great athlete," said Waddle. "Now people will be talking about him and saying 'How great, how great'. I would say 'how good'.

"I would not say he was a great. He was very good at his job, he worked very hard as a professional footballer."

Manchester United manager-in-waiting David Moyes, preparing to lead Everton for the final time, has added to the since his announcement on Thursday.

"He's been a great player, a tremendous ambassador. I think everyone who is English is tremendously proud of what David Beckham has done over the years and how he has conducted himself," said the Scot.

"I was very fortunate to play with David when he came to Preston North End, he was a great lad then, very humble and really just wanted to play.

"Everybody who was part of that team [at Preston] still remembers him and still wants to talk about how they played in a team with David Beckham. I'm no different."

Carlo Ancelotti, Beckham's current manager at PSG, said: "The football world lost a fantastic player, lost a fantastic professional, lost a good man. It's the right decision because he decided to stop and not other people [telling him to stop].

"We have to respect his decision.

"It's not my business to find a role for David. He's going to speak with the club and if they decide to give him a new position, it is up to David and the club."

Beckham  in January, and when asked if he was interested in signing Beckham, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said: "Yes, I was. It was at a period when I couldn't afford him. And after that there was a question mark before he went to Milan, but it was a position we didn't really need.

"It was always a pleasure to have him here because of his attitude and behaviour. He gained respect from everybody.

"No matter how strong a player he is, what remains in your memory is his genuine commitment and dedication and the natural humility which he always had. That will stay forever."

QPR manager Harry Redknapp was in charge at Tottenham when Beckham trained with Spurs in 2011. He said: "He was down to earth, everybody loved him, he treated everybody with great respect and he had time for everyone. He's had a fantastic career and is an absolute top-class fella.

"He's been a great role model for any young footballer."

Cannes Jewels Theft: $1m Chopard Raid

Jewellery worth more than $1m (£660,000) has been stolen from a hotel before it could be given to stars attending the Cannes Film Festival.

The jewels, which were intended for loan to actors while walking the red carpet, were all made by Swiss luxury jeweller Chopard.

Thieves broke into the room of a Chopard employee at the Novotel hotel in the centre of Cannes before opening a safe and making off with the jewels.

Police have confirmed the Palme D'Or trophy, which is presented to the director of the festival's best film, is safe. 

Chopard has been an official sponsor of the Cannes Film Festival for 16 years.

Police outside the Novotel in Cannes

Last year the jeweller's ambassadors at the festival included Eva Herzigova, Jessica Chastain, Reese Witherspoon and Marion Cotillard.

This year, Julianne Moore, Cindy Crawford and Cara Delevingne were all spotted at the opening ceremony wearing Chopard jewellery.

No one from Chopard was available for comment when contacted by Sky News. 

After the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival is the industry's most prestigious event.

Cara Delevigne and Cindy Crawford wear Chopard at the festival

This year it was opened with a red-carpet screening of Baz Luhrman's new film The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan.

Other films that will compete for the Palme D'Or trophy this year include Inside Llewyn Davis, directed by the Coen brothers, and Venus in Fur, directed by Roman Polanski.

Stars expected to arrive in the French resort before the festival closes on May 26 include Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Ryan Gosling and Alain Delon. 

This year American Director Steven Spielberg is the festival's President of the Jury.

Hostage Killed By Captors As Rescue Raid Began

Mr McManus was being held by insurgents in Nigeria but was shot dead just minutes after a joint UK and Nigerian rescue operation stormed the compound, an inquest heard.

The 28-year-old quantity surveyor was shot in a toilet as the special forces, under AK-47 fire from the kidnappers, tried to save his life.

The hearing in Salisbury heard the soldiers stormed the building in the north west city of Sokoto after intelligence sources told them Mr McManus and his fellow captive Italian Franco Lamolinara were there.

The men, who had been held for 10 months, both died in the raid on March 8 last year.

Images of Mr McManus and Mr Lamolinara released by the kidnappers

In three videos released during their time in captivity the hostage takers claimed to be affiliated to al Qaeda and threatened to kill the men if their demands were not met.

Lead investigator Detective Chief Inspector Grant Mallon of the Metropolitan Police heard evidence from the special forces involved rescue attempt and told the inquest that they went in after receiving intelligence from the Nigerian forces.

At midday a British SBS team forced entry into the compound and came under "sustained gunfire".

Moments after they engaged and killed the gunman they heard gunshots coming from another area of the compound. DCI Mallon described them as "rapid single shots."

The British team then carefully made their way through the compound to where they believed the hostages had been held.

They found Chris and his colleague Franco Lamolinara in a small bathroom, they had both been shot dead.

Bullet holes in the building where the hostages were held

DCI Mallon said: "The door was partially open and when the soldiers looked inside they could see two white males on the floor and they immediately recognised them as Chris and Franco. Chris was lying to the left of the toilet. Both men had visible gunshot wounds. It appears they were killed fairly quickly into the engagement."

He said he believed the toilet was next to the room where the two men had been held. A Manchester United football shirt that Chris had worn in one of the videos was found in the room.

Four minutes after the raid began two men, believed to be the killers, were seen running away from the compound - they later died.

Wiltshire and Swindon coroner David Ridley recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

He said: "Within the first minutes of the operation was when Chris was fatally shot. Those two insurgents who were seen leaving the compound, I'm satisifed that one of those was responsible for Chris's death and also Franco's.

"Chris died from the result of a devastating gunshot wound to the head."

Agreement to the operation had been given by Cobra - the Government's crisis committee - at 11.15am, just 45 minutes before it started.

The failed operation caused a diplomatic row between Britain and Italy after Italian president Giorgio Napolitano said it was "inexplicable" that Downing Street had not alerted Rome to the plan to rescue the men in advance.

But Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted it had been impossible to inform the Italian authorities in advance.

After the inquest, Mr McManus' family, from Royton near Oldham, released a statement in which they thanked the "seven British Military personnel who with their Nigerian counterparts risked their lives attempting to rescue Chris and Franco."

It said: "We hoped until the end for a positive outcome as we are sure did Chris and Franco.

"They were always in a dangerous situation from the time of their kidnapping. However, the sequence of events particularly over the last few days of their lives, played out in such a manner as to make it a hopeless one.

"We accept that the decisions reached and taken by the authorities were the only ones possible based on the information available."