David Beckham stays polite during James Corden statue prank

March 12 (UPI) -- David Beckham managed to stay polite as James Corden pranked him with a fake statue.

The 43-year-old retired soccer star kept his cool after Corden swapped out Beckham's new commemorative statue with a "terrible" version and filmed his reaction for Monday's episode of The Late Late Show.

Beckham thought he was attending the unveiling of his statue from the Los Angeles Galaxy. He unwittingly met actors posing as annoying fans and watched a highlight reel featuring missed goals and penalties.

At a previous meeting, Beckham told sculptor Omri Amrany he thought the statue's chin and butt were too big. Corden emphasized these features on the fake version and had comedian Maz Jobrani play Amrany at the unveiling.

Beckham was visibly disappointed but politely applauded at the unveiling. He tried to remain constructive as he discussed the statue with Jobrani, unaware the actor was not the real sculptor.

"It's slightly different from what it was when I saw it in Chicago, though," Beckham said. "I mean, look at my chin."

"I mean, I really don't see how this can go out," he added. "There's no way that can go out in front of the stadium."

Corden rushed out to surprise Beckham after a forklift operator "accidentally" knocked the statue over and destroyed it. The LA Galaxy unveiled the real version March 2 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.