Beckham leads sports stars in tribute to Manchester victims

Former England captain David Beckham was those to pay his respects following an explosion that left 22 dead on Monday night.

The blast, which was a terrorist attack from a suicide bomber, happened at the end of a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena at around 10.40pm. It has also left 59 people injured.

Beckham, who played with distinction for Manchester United for a number of years, posted a heartfelt tribute on his Instagram page.

Meanwhile, Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany tweeted: “I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims. It’s a sad day for the great city of Manchester. #Unity ”

And Manchester City’s official twitter account soon followed suit, while tributes also came in from Gary Lineker and other stars from the sporting world.

Manchester United also tweeted a message of condolence on Tuesday morning as people woke up to the devastating news of the attack.

The full might of Manchester’s emergency services was deployed to the scene where a significant number of the 21,000 people who attended the concert were left with “shrapnel type injuries”.

It is expected that Manchester United will consider wearing black arm bands when they face Ajax in the Europa League final on Wednesday night in Sweden.

There is also an urgent appeal to donate blood and the Manchester Evening News have published a list of where this can be done.