Football icon David Beckham has reflected on his relationship with former legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
The ex-England international had grown up as a Manchester United fan in east London but was a part of the famed academy from the age of 11 alongside Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt—later they would collectively be known as the Class of 92 that conquered everything in England and Europe.
The 49-year-old enjoyed a glittering 11-year career at Old Trafford, lifting six Premier League titles and playing a chief role in the club’s treble success of 1999. However, David Beckham stunned the footballing fraternity in 2003 when he left his boyhood club to join Real Madrid.
The Flying Boot incident in February 2003 led to the pair falling out, with Sir Alex Ferguson ultimately deciding to move Beckham on from Manchester United.
Speaking with his former Man United and England teammate Rio Ferdinand on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Becks—lovingly known across the world—opened up on his relationship with Fergie.
“I always looked at the boss as a father figure. I moved up from East London when I was 15 years old, and even though he was Manchester United’s manager, it was like he was my dad. The kind of relationship that we had was incredible because he knew exactly when to put his arm around you, but he also knew which player could take a stronger word.”
“That’s why we had the success at Manchester United that we had. The players wanted to play for him. People always talk about the difficult times we had, but we didn’t have many difficult times because the manager understood me, and I understood what the manager wanted.”
Beckham’s global level of fame, brand value and mass fan following were unique to the Premier League. After rising to stardom at the Theatre of Dreams, the stylish Englishman’s rise in stature continued following his moves to Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and LA Galaxy.
Even now, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City, Beckham remains one of the most celebrated and talked about footballers in world football. He pulled off already the biggest signing in MLS history with Lionel Messi and it remains to be where he goes from here in his conglomerate of roles.
