30 spectators and Beckham just a dad at side of pitch
HE once graced the finest football stadiums in the world and is used to VIP treatment as one of the UK’s top sport stars.
But David Beckham cut a solitary figure as he stood at the side of the pitch to watch his son Romeo, 17, play for a youth team.
He was one of only 30 spectators at the under-18s friendly match in Somerset. Romeo’s team were playing Clevedon Town FC’s youth side.
Fans were stunned when they spotted the football legend, 44, on Wednesday night.
Within minutes of fans sharing an image on Twitter of the former England captain in Clevedon, the number of supporters soared to 200. Club’s chairman Brian Rose, who was serving food and drink, admitted he did not recognise the former Manchester United and Real Madrid icon when he bought tea and chips from him.
He said: “I thought, ‘I know that face’, but then I thought, No it can’t be – what would David Beckham be doing at Clevedon Town watching the game?”
After a chat Rose asked the question. “I said ‘Excuse me, are you David Beckham?’. He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s right. I’ve come to watch Romeo’.” When multi-millionaire Beckham arrived he was asked to pay £3 for his ticket. But when Rose realised who he was he was ushered into a stand of his own by stewards.
He then witnessed his son’s team lose 5-3. Romeo was even given a yellow card for foul play. Rose said: “David was brilliant.” However, the chairman said he was later devastated when he realised he missed an opportunity to ask for help with a £50,000 fundraising campaign to replace floodlights.