STUD MISSILE
Flying Fergie boot that shattered Becks’ Man U love affair and sent him and Posh sashaying to Spain
It was an accident. He could never do it again – I’ve seen him in training
DAVID BECKHAM
IT was a strike that carried a level of accuracy Alex Ferguson could never have fashioned as a centre forward with Rangers.
David Beckham, his tongue stuck firmly in a cheek below the faint scar on his eyebrow, admitted as much as he reflected on the bust-up that altered his career forever.
On June 17, 2003, the England midfielder agreed to move to Real Madrid, launching the Galacticos to even greater levels in football’s showbiz universe.
It also brought to an end the father-son relationship with his Manchester United mentor as Ferguson finally cut ties with one of the kids he loved most.
The structure of the £24.5million transfer deal suggested Madrid, if not doing United a favour, were well placed to take advantage of the decline in the football bond between Beckham and Ferguson.
Sir Alex was well acquainted with the importance of never switching off and it all came to a head, literally, with Beckham in February 2003.
Ferguson had been fiercely criticised as a player for allowing Billy McNeill to rise unopposed to nod Celtic in front in the 1969 Scottish Cup Final, the Celtic skipper’s two-minute opener the foundation for a 4-0 romp.
This time, Beckham attracted the ire of his manager in a 2-0 FA Cup defeat against Arsenal at Old Trafford when he was caught ball watching at the Gunners’ second.
In ‘My Autobiography’ Ferguson revealed: “He was around 12 feet from me. Between us on the floor lay a row of boots. David swore. I moved towards him, and as I approached I kicked a boot. It hit him right above the eye.
“He rose to have a go at me and the players stopped him. ‘Sit down,’ I said. ‘You’ve let your team down. You can argue as much as you like.’
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s Alex Ferguson or Pete the Plumber. The name of the manager is irrelevant. The authority is what counts.”
Contrite, three days after the incident and with pictures of his star player’s surgically taped eye all over the world’s media, Ferguson said: “It was a freak occurrence that will never happen again.”
In 2017, Beckham laughed and agreed: “It was a freak accident. He could never do it again because I have seen him in training,”
Ferguson’s connection with Beckham had soured over his growing celebrity status on the back of a relationship with Spice Girl Victoria Adams.
In particular, Beckham believed his boss need not know about his life outside of work, infamously annoying Ferguson when he travelled to Ireland during the season to meet up with his new girl.
A distance began to grow between Beckham and Ferguson and the manager noted the apparent rush of his protege to shake hands with Roberto Carlos during a
Champions League tie against Real Madrid the week after the boot incident.
Ferguson felt Beckham had lost interest and favoured Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the right flank for the remainder of the campaign, ultimately leading to the icon’s exit to Spain.
Beckham admitted later: “I had no aspirations to leave United. There was never any revenge. I was hurt and angry at how the situation had gone because throughout the season I was left out of certain games but never thought it would lead to me leaving.
“I didn’t watch Manchester United for three years. I was shocked and devastated because we had just won the league that season.”
United only received £5.25m up front for Beckham, whose transfer deal was only the 16th most expensive in the world at his time of signing.
After the initial up front payment, the Old Trafford giants received instalments over the next four years amounting to £12.25m, with the final £7m in incentives, based on Real’s performances in the Champions League.
It was a modest outlay that paid off commercially, with Madrid estimated to have banked around £500m in merchandise over Beckham’s four years at the club.
However, his time at Madrid was not considered an overwhelming success as the club struggled to compete with great rivals Barcelona.
In January 2007 it was announced Beckham would leave the club that summer and sign for LA Galaxy and even boss Fabio Capello announced that month Beckham had played his last match for Real.
But Beckham regained his place and although he could not take them beyond the last 16 in Europe, he did help them win La Liga for the first time since his arrival.