Beckshas regretsover Fergie feud
DAVID Beckham has accepted he made mistakes in his time at Manchester United that led to a breakdown in relations with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Beckham progressed from the youth ranks to become one of the biggest stars at Old Trafford but was sold by Ferguson to Real Madrid in 2003.
The former LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris SaintGermain star accepts that his celebrity status gave Ferguson cause to doubt his professionalism.
Speaking about his life and career on BBC Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs, Beckham said: “At 41 I’d like to think that I’m a little wiser than when I was 21.
“There were certain decisions I made back then that were wrong and I can see why the manager got so frustrated.
“There was one when [wife] Victoria was in Ireland. I had a day off so I flew over. I didn’t feel I had to tell the manager.
“As I was coming back at 6am for training, I was sitting in the lounge and the manager walked in. He didn’t talk to me.
“I knew I was in a little bit of trouble. I can understand him thinking, ‘Okay, he’s not looking after his body’. All the manager ever wanted was the best for the team, the best for the club and the best for the individual.”
Their most public falling-out came in February 2003 when, after a defeat by Arsenal, Ferguson kicked a boot that left him with a cut above the eye.
Beckham described it as a “freak accident”, adding: “He could never do it again, because I have seen him in training.”
But it was Ferguson who provided Beckham with reassurance following his sending-off during England’s World Cup quarter-final l oss to Argentina in 1998.
“The first person to call me after that game was Sir Alex Ferguson,” said the former England captain. “He said, ‘Son, get back to Manchester, you’ll be fine’. And that gave me strength to get through probably the toughest time I’ve been through.
“My wife had told me we were expecting our first child so it should have been a happy time and it wasn’t.
“I had the support of the fans. very single time I walked up to take a corner the whole stadium stood up and clapped and sang my name. I get emotional talking about it.”
Beckham was part of the famous class of ’92 at United alongside the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
“At the time we never felt like there was something so special going on,” he revealed. “We had a tough youth manager, Eric Harrison, that kept us in place, and then obviously we had Ferguson.
“We all had j obs. I cleaned eight of the firstteam players’ boots, Nicky Butt cleaned the showers, Paul Scholes cleaned the toilets and changing rooms.
“But at the time we didn’t think about anything other than trying to keep our place in the team.”