David Beckham plays football with deprived children in Argentina as part of BBC documentary

Beckham is in Buenos Aires as part of a BBC documentary looking into football around the world

David Beckham played football with young children in Argentina as part of a BBC documentary (Getty Images)

David Beckham has added to his heroes’ status by taking to the playground in a football match with deprived children in Argentina.

The former England captain is currently treking around the globe as part of a new documentary that will delve into how the game is played across seven different continents.

Known for his generosity and charity work as much as he is for his special right boot, Beckham has enjoyed a cult status since he retired from the game as one of the nation’s greatest ever captains.

On Monday, Beckham took to the streets of Buenos Aires to investigate into the state of Argentinian football for young children, and he soon became engrossed in a match with a group of local kids that were mesmerised by his presence.

With the match taking place in the shadow of San Lorenzo’s Estadio Pedro Bidegain stadium, Beckham competed with the children of the Villa 1-11-14 shanty town, one of the most deprived areas of the country’s capital city.

The town has been plagued by a life of poverty and crime whith a number of local gangs clashing on the streets, but Beckham was able to bring smiles to the faces of the young children simply by his presence before a ball was kicked.

Local priest, Kernan Morelli, told Cancha Llena: "He was here for about two hours. He said hello to residents and played football with the children.

"Here we have the church team, Mothers of the People, and he played with them."

As part of Beckham’s travels, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has already visited Papua New Guinea and Nepal to experience football in those parts of the world. With the documentary set to be screened on the BBC, Beckham will also visit Antarctica, Djibouti and Miami – where he is in the process of setting up a Major League Soccer franchise of his own – before wrapping his trip up at United’s Old Trafford stadium.