David Beckham

Presenter0:00

This is the BBC.

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Hello, I'm Kirsty Young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio four. This is an extended edition of the original broadcast. For rights reasons the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcast.

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For more information about the programme, please visit bbc.co.uk slash radio four.

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My castaway for this special 75th birthday edition of Desert Island Discs is David Beckham, footballer, global brand, humanitarian. For the past 25 years we have watched him score goals, set trends, and more recently speak out. His stats as a player are of course impressive. 115 caps for his country, 59 of them as skipper, and the only footballer to win league titles in his homeland, Spain, the US and France. But in truth, he's much more than just a world-class athlete. He has transcended sport and become a global superstar, recognised almost as much for what he's done off the pitch as on it. And it seems these days he's as at home at the United Nations making a speech on child welfare as gracing billboards in those designer pants. He says, if you want to make the best of yourself, if you want to reach your potential, you give it everything. You never stop striving. So I am delighted to welcome you as my castaway on this very special occasion. Guests, as you'll know, have been exiled to this little island for three quarters of a century now. As somebody who literally whose every move in public is scrutinised and photographed and documented, I'm wondering if there is something about the idea.

Presenter2:03

of being on your own and having that privacy that somehow seems quite appealing.

David Beckham2:09

It does seem very appealing and by the way, thank you for having me on. I'm really honored to be here. And the island sounds a great idea because, like you say, people are always watching, always interested in what's going on, and and I'm very lucky to be in a position like I'm in. But I'm I'm looking forward to this.

Presenter2:27

Post-match analysis, of course, is hardly in short supply. You have talked a lot and been asked a lot over the years about football, and I'm hoping today that we will, you know, we'll talk about you, the man, but of course there are very few people, nobody else really, whose signature skill has been encapsulated in a movie title no less. And I want to just try to get a sense of what it is like to be able to bend the ball like that. As your toe touches the leather. Is there a sweetness in it?

David Beckham2:56

Um, yes. You know, as soon as you hit that ball and you know you've hit it well, you know that it doesn't matter who's in goal, whether it's one of the best goalkeepers in the world, you know that it's going in. You know, there's certain moments like the Greece goal, for instance, one of those moments where I look back on

Presenter3:08

See?

Presenter3:10

You started celebrating before that I mean you knew I did and

David Beckham3:12

I mean, I did, and that has happened on quite a number of occasions when I've looked back at the videos. You know, I've hit the ball and before it's even gone in, I'm actually running off.

Presenter3:21

That Greece goal, of course, meant that England qualified. They weren't about to.

David Beckham3:23

They weren't about to one of the biggest moments for me.

Presenter3:27

You know, I listed off all all the you know, the fifty nine of them as Skipper for England, hundred and fifty caps. Where do you keep all the stuff, the caps and the trophies and the awards?

David Beckham3:36

I have all of my caps at my house. I have my medals in a safe in the bank because they're so precious to me. They're for my children in the future because they've lived through my career as well. There's a lot of memorabilia that I have, old shirts of my own, and obviously players that I've played against. I have so many pairs of boots because I always used to keep my boots after a game. How many boots do you think? Oh my goodness.

Presenter4:00

Yeah.

David Beckham4:03

Over a thousand pairs of boots and

Presenter4:06

Edgie, where are they?

David Beckham4:06

I keep them in storage.

Presenter4:08

Right.

David Beckham4:08

They're in boxes. There's certain ones that

Presenter4:10

Stop that.

David Beckham4:11

Competes with Victoria's shoe collection, doesn't it? It does actually. Yeah. It does.

Presenter4:12

The collection, isn't it?

Presenter4:14

Yeah. You and I know each other a little. We we both do work for UNICEF. I'm UK President and you of course have been this Goodwill ambassador since two thousand five and set up your own fund called the David Beckham Seven Fund in twenty fifteen.

Presenter4:28

You don't need to do that. Why do you do that?

David Beckham4:30

I do it because it's something that I'm so passionate about. You know, when I was at Manchester United and we went to Thailand for the first time where I was introduced to a women's centre, there was something about it that made me feel even at that age, okay, I want to get involved, it's important that I do this. And it's not for vanity reasons, it's for the reasons of I enjoy doing it, I'm passionate about it.

Presenter4:56

So, David, tell me about this first disc we're going to hear. What is it and why have you picked it?

David Beckham5:01

Well the first song for me is important because you know my granddad, my grandparents, Nana and granddad, I was so close to them and my mum used to take us there every weekend. We used to get there every Saturday morning at about eight o'clock and I'd walk in and I'd sit in a chair that was known as my granddad's chair. You know, it was old school, very stern, but so loving as well. And he used to work nights at the print. And he used to get up at about 11 o'clock in the morning. I was watching Football Focus and he would say, okay, out. And as soon as he said out, we jumped up, whether it was me, whether it was my sisters. And he did exactly the same with my children as well. But the thing that I remember, and this is why the song is so memorable for me, is it used to be playing when I walked in his flat. It's Ella Fitzgerald and Every Time We Say Goodbye.

Speaker 36:00

Every time we say goodbye I doubt a little every time we say goodbye

Speaker 36:20

I wonder why a little

Speaker 36:25

Why the God's above me Who must be in the know?

Speaker 36:37

Think so little of me They allow you to go

Speaker 36:49

When you near there's such an air of spring about it.

Presenter7:01

That was Ella Fitzgerald and every time we say goodbye chosen by you, David Beckham, because as you say, it's memories of your grandparents' home, but especially of your grandfather. You were famously then born in the East End, Leytonstone, May of 1975. You moved to Chingford when you were three years old with your family. As you say, you've got two sisters, older and younger. You're in the middle. What's your very, very, very earliest memory?

David Beckham7:24

My very earliest memory was my mum taking me to football all the time and obviously my dad was working so as a gas fitter. So my mum did a lot of the training sessions, did a lot of the games at the weekend and my dad, you know, day after day, week after week, we used to go over to the park right near our house in Chingford. There was a goal over there with no nets and he would say, Okay, hit the crossbar, hit the crossbar and we'd do it for hours and hours. And that's one thing my parents have given me, that work ethic. You know, I remember my dad going out at six o'clock in the morning and coming back at seven. Thirty, eight at night, sometimes later. You know, my mum would make dinner for us. My me and my sisters, she'd focus on us as as children and then at nine o'clock at night she would have her old ladies come in and she would do their hair. She was a hairdresser. She was a hairdresser, so she would do that.

Presenter8:16

Yeah, she's a hairdresser.

Presenter8:19

Till eleven, twelve at night. You have said of your dad that all the hours that he gave you and all the time he took with you, you said he was a bit of a taskmaster. He was with

David Beckham8:28

Which, you know, at times is is upsetting for any child. You know, when your dad really believes in something that you're doing or when he wants you to do it to the best of your ability and you're not, you know, you want to be pulled up on it. And I kind of try to be like that with my children. I'm a lot softer than what my dad was with me. You want to give them cuddles, but you also want to be honest with them because if you feel that they can do something better than what they're actually doing, you know, they need to know.

Presenter8:56

Of course, we parent differently now, you know, the arms round.

David Beckham8:57

The arms are a bit different.

Presenter8:59

But when your dad was parenting you, it was tough love, was it? Did he take your love? Without a doubt, it was.

David Beckham9:03

Without a doubt, it was a tough love, you know. And I remember playing for Ridgway Rovers on a Sunday morning, and if I had a bad game, he would tell me and he would go through every single minute of that game. And just to make you

Presenter9:14

And just to be clear, you were seven when you were playing.

David Beckham9:15

I was seven and every single detail he would go through and I remember turning round to him sometimes and saying, Yeah, but I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. But when I look back on it, I think that was exactly how I needed to be taught. He always loved football. He had trials for Leighton Orient and things like that, but he was one of these players, A was always offside.

David Beckham9:41

Always offside, but when I started playing he gave up playing.

David Beckham9:46

You know, even though it was for a Sunday league team, he gave up playing. He gave up for you, he gave up for me.

Presenter9:49

He gave up for you, did he?

Presenter9:52

I said in the introduction that you are a man of many parts now. You know, you've done your own clothing line, you've got your own fragrance. I always see you on the world's best dress list. It doesn't matter where they're printed. You're this style icon, and from what I understand

Speaker 210:01

It doesn't matter.

Presenter10:07

It started early. Tell me about you were six years old and you were going to be a page boy.

David Beckham10:08

But you were six years old and you were going to be a page boy at a wedding.

Presenter10:12

at a wedding, and tell me what you wanted to wear, young David Beckham.

David Beckham10:16

Well, I had two options, just a normal suit or

David Beckham10:21

The option of burgundy velvet knickerbockers with white tights and uh white ballet shoes. And I chose that, believe it or not. Did you feel the bees' knees? I felt great. My dad looked at me as if to say, Really? That's what you picked? Did you ever wear it again? Did you um I think I did. I think I did and I'm sure my mum has got that outfit at home. Not to football training I hope.

Presenter10:24

Yeah.

Presenter10:35

I

Presenter10:43

Training I hope

David Beckham10:44

Right, tell me about this next track then. Okay, so this next track for me was one of the first albums that I ever bought because it reminded me of my dad. It reminded me of being with my parents on the way up to Manchester to go to the Bobby Charlton soccer school, stopping at the little chef on the way, having gammon, eggs, chips, and coleslaw every time that I went up there. And my dad used to sing this song really loud, but he was tone deaf, I think. Well, I definitely know that. And he'd play this whole album from start to finish. So it's Michael MacDonald.

Speaker 311:19

He came from somewhere back in her long ago

Speaker 311:25

Set up and the food don't see trying hard to recreate what had yet to be created.

Speaker 311:33

Once in her life, she musters a smile For his nostalgic tear.

Speaker 311:41

Never coming near what you wanted to say

Speaker 311:45

How did you realize?

Speaker 311:49

Never really was.

Speaker 311:52

She

Speaker 311:55

Place in his life

Presenter11:57

That was Michael MacDonald and the Doobie Brothers, and What a Fool Believes. There is a lovely photograph of you, David, aged 10.

Presenter12:04

You know the one I mean. You are shaking hands with Sir Bobby Charlton, and you've got this sort of shy you're trying to swallow your smile, but it's escaping, and you've got this sort of on-trend layered barnett.

David Beckham12:13

Yes.

Presenter12:14

I'm wondering how you got to meet him,'cause it's a brilliant photograph.

David Beckham12:17

Well, I remember being sat at home in Chingford and Blue Peter was on the telly and there was an advert that came on for Bobby Charlton Soccer School. So I called my mummy and I said I'd want to go to the Bobby Charlton Soccer School. And Bobby Cholton was such a hero for my dad. You know, it was his favourite player, favourite team. And so my dad was up for it from the moment that I actually said that I wanted to go. So I was aged 10 and it meant that I had to go into lodgings in Manchester and stay up there for a week or two, which I was more than happy to do. He was there all the time, which was amazing. I loved it. I was homesick, but my parents went to stay with my auntie and uncle that were living in Southport at the time. So they came and saw me for five minutes and then left. And my dad was like, you'll be fine. And you presumably you had to pay for that, did you? We had to pay for that. It was really expensive for my parents to pay. And that's one of the sacrifices that they always gave to me.

Presenter12:51

Most of us are

Presenter13:15

What about the rest of your life? I mean, as a young teenager, you know, were there local discos? Was there cider in the park? Was there a fag in the bus shelter? There was never.

David Beckham13:23

Never, ever a fag in the bus shelter because of the football, and whenever my friends were down a corner shop hanging out, drinking, I was in watching football, watching match of the day, and preparing for the game that I had on the Sunday. And of course I went to school discos, but it never really interested me.

Presenter13:41

On the I think it was the actual day of your fourteenth birthday, it was the the second of may, nineteen eighty nine, you travelled north and it was, by all accounts, a very, very significant day. You were there with your mum and dad.

Presenter13:55

Tell us about it. You met who and what did you do? And don't

David Beckham13:58

Going back a couple of years and the Bobby Charlton, I went when I was 10 years old, then I went again when I was 11 years old, and I actually won the competition.

David Beckham14:08

That is how the Manchester United connection came around. Bobby Charlton obviously was part of Manchester United and he's part of Manchester United and he obviously told Sir Alex Ferguson and the coaching staff and the scouts. And I had a scout from Manchester watching me, I didn't know, but down in London, he came up to my mum after one game and said, We'd like to take David up to Manchester for a trial. And I remember my mum coming up to me.

David Beckham14:36

and saying, Lucky you played well today and I was like, Well, why? Sh and she said, Because there was a Manchester United scout here and he's asked you to go up to Manchester for a trial.

David Beckham14:46

And I burst into tears because it's all I ever wanted. You know, Manchester United was my dad's team, was my team. I was training at Tottenham and Arsenal at the time.

Presenter14:52

Yeah.

David Beckham14:56

I had to choose between the two, so I chose Tottenham because my grandad was a season ticket holder for over forty years. But Manchester United was my team, so that was my opportunity. So then fast forward till I was fourteen, I was sat in a room with Sir Alex Ferguson. I ate with the team before their game.

David Beckham15:14

He took me into the office and I was signing a contract for Manchester United.

Presenter15:20

Let's have your next piece of music, David Beckham. Tell me about this. This is the third.

David Beckham15:23

Stone Roses is one of my favorite bands of all time. It was the nineties in Manchester. There were so many things going on around Manchester, you know, Oasis, Stone Roses, and it was the time of the hacienda. I didn't go there very often. Actually, I probably went there once, but you're not a loader.

Presenter15:39

But you're not allowed out.

David Beckham15:40

Uh

David Beckham15:41

I probably was allowed out but the manager knew exactly where we were every minute of the day and there's certain songs remind me of Manchester and this is one of them.

Speaker 315:45

Yeah.

Speaker 315:50

Don't waste your words, I don't need anything from you.

Speaker 315:58

I don't care where you've been or what you plan to do

Speaker 316:07

I am Murazura.

Speaker 316:16

I hate you as I

Presenter16:23

The Stone Roses and I Am the Resurrection. So David Beckham, famously, of course, you were part of that class of Ninety Two. There was you, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Neville Brothers, Nicky Butt.

Presenter16:34

Try to describe to me how it felt to be there at the time, being one of the kids, if you will.

David Beckham16:40

To be honest, at the time, we never felt that there was something so special going on. You know, we had a really tough youth team manager, Eric Harrison, that kept us all in place. And then, obviously, we had Sir Alex Ferguson. We all had jobs. You know, I cleaned eight of the first-team players' boots. Nikki Buck cleaned the showers. Paul Scholes cleaned the toilets and the changing rooms. Gary Neville and Phil would be picking the dirty kit up. But at the time, the Class of 92, you know, we didn't think about anything other than trying to keep our place in the team and winning the Youth Cup if we could.

Presenter17:18

Mr President, you've talked so much about all of this dedication and the coaches that you worked with. Of course, you will be more than aware of the very recent, appalling unearthing of the scandal, of the alleged abuse of young players in all of these sort of circumstances that you're talking about. Was there ever a time that you thought, that doesn't seem right, I don't want to be here?

David Beckham17:38

There was never anything at Manchester United and it's disgraceful what's gone on and there has to be something done about it but nothing at Manchester United. The closest part would have been from certain professionals that if we'd gone out of line they'd make us do a funny dance in the middle of the change room in front of the professionals like in front of my heroes or our heroes at the time and

Presenter18:04

So a degree of humiliation really

David Beckham18:05

Humiliation. And that was all it was. But that was just to teach us a lesson. There was never any wrongdoing. Do you think that the

Presenter18:13

Clubs are doing enough to address it. Do you think the FA's response has been adequate?

David Beckham18:16

Uh I would like to think that the clubs are all on board with this and I'd like to believe that the FA are doing everything they can to find out more, to find out about the allegations and the more these ex-professionals voice their opinions then that's when there will be change.

Presenter18:37

Let's take a little jump forward then. We were talking about the class of ninety two. Let's talk about the first game of the ninety six, ninety seven season against Wimbledon. I'm sure you remember it well. And it was the goal that that you've said in the past, you know, that was the goal that would change my life.

David Beckham18:52

Yeah, and I didn't realize it at the time how much it would be.

Presenter18:55

And this is a shot at goal from your half. You were on right on the halfway line. Almost exactly on the halfway line.

David Beckham18:59

I was. I was. And Eric Cantonar had gone off the field and I just remember the ball falling to me and thinking, Yeah, why not? And I hit it and it started to the left and then it came back and I thought

David Beckham19:12

This has got a chance. This has got a real chance. And then all of a sudden, it hit the back of the net. And there seemed to be silence. There was silence. It was amazing. As people watched it cruise through the air. And my mum, my dad, and my younger sister, Joanne, was actually behind that goal. And I've got a picture at home where the ball's literally going in the back of the net, and my parents are standing up, which is amazing. And the best part of that day for me was Eric Cantoner came up to me and he said, What a goal. And he was a hero of mine. But usually, and these days.

Presenter19:22

Yeah.

David Beckham19:47

I would have been doing interviews, I would have been on match of the day. The manager turned round to me in the change room and he said, Do not speak to anybody. Get on that bus with the team and with your friends. And that was it.

Presenter19:50

Yeah.

David Beckham19:59

That's one thing with Sir Alex Sergson. He prepared us for the future. I scored that goal at a really young age, so I probably wasn't that prepared to actually then talk on Matter the Day, and the manager was like, Nope, you don't talk to anybody.

Presenter20:13

Yeah.

Presenter20:14

Nineteen ninety nine was an amazing year for you, David. On the pitch and off the pitch. Um Man United, they won the Treble, they won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League. You were twenty four?

Speaker 320:24

Yeah.

Presenter20:25

And you've talked about your father.

Presenter20:27

At that point, when you'd won the treble, what what did he say to you? Did you have a conversation together?

David Beckham20:32

Um no, we actually didn't. You know, I I knew that my dad would always be proud of my achievements, but the only time my dad turned round to me and said, You know what, son, you've done really well was when I got my hundredth cap for England.

Presenter20:50

The only time.

David Beckham20:51

Yeah.

David Beckham20:52

I mean from time to time he would say that was a great game, he played well.

Presenter20:55

You played well.

Presenter20:57

What do you make of that?

David Beckham20:58

Um

Presenter20:59

Uh

David Beckham20:59

It makes me emotional.

Presenter21:02

Did something move into place? Did you sort of feel your

Presenter21:05

your world shift a little bit.

David Beckham21:06

Um

David Beckham21:07

Probably, because everybody wants to make their parents proud. You know, I I'd always had that feeling that I had done, but it I'd never heard it really from my dad until that moment, or seen it, you know, in his eyes and and seen it in his facial expressions. That for me was the moment where I knew that I'd, you know, made him proud.

David Beckham21:27

Let's have some more music, David Beckham. We're going to hear your fourth now. Tell me a little bit about this. Well, like you said, 99 was a very special year. As a Manchester United player, I won the treble. I got married to Victoria and then we had our first son, Brooklyn. We became friends with Elton and he was coming to the wedding to perform this certain song. And we had a phone call that morning to say, unfortunately, Elton was on the plane and he had a heart attack. So obviously we were more worried about his health and how he was. But eventually we christened the kids a couple of years after that and he came and he performed this song in our house and it's a very special song for us.

Speaker 322:13

But in the moonlight

Speaker 322:17

You just shine like a beacon of the bay

Speaker 322:26

And Cal Explain!

Speaker 322:30

But there's something about the way you look tonight.

Speaker 322:39

Takes my breath away

Speaker 322:44

It's that feeling I care about

Speaker 322:46

You deep inside

Presenter22:49

That was your good friend and godfather to your children, you were saying, David Beckham. That was Elton John with something about the way you look tonight. You've said, my wife picked me out of a football sticker book and I chose her off the telly. That's very funny, but is it actually true? Um I don't know whether it sh

David Beckham23:05

true on her side because she was never into football. Everyone at the time well, I think everyone at the time had their favorite Spice Girl and I remember seeing Victoria on the telly and she was dressed in this black cat suit. I remember it so didn't leave much

Presenter23:18

I remember it. It didn't leave much to the imagination, did it?

David Beckham23:20

No, it definitely didn't, which is one of the reasons why b she became my favorite spice girl.

Presenter23:25

Yeah.

Presenter23:26

Your wife wrote only very recently actually in in Vogue magazine that it was a letter to her young self and she says in this letter love at first sight does exist. I mean was it love at first sight for you when you saw it in the Players' Lounge? Without a doubt.

David Beckham23:38

Without a doubt. Uh I'd seen her the week before and I must have caught her eye because then the week after she came to another game.

Presenter23:46

She's not that interested in football, I gather. So she was clearly there for another reason.

David Beckham23:48

So she was clearly there for another reason. So she was obviously there for a reason, and I was hoping that I was the reason, and apparently I was. And I went into the players' lounge. She'd had a couple of glasses of white wine at the time, and I saw my opportunity while she was slightly tipped it. And I spoke to her for 25 minutes, and I got her number, so it worked.

Presenter23:51

Yeah.

Presenter24:09

And so, of course, Posh and Bex was born, as we all know. You were twenty two, Victoria was twenty three, both very successful. Her probably a little bit more successful than you at this point, it has to be said. How did you actually manage to go on any dates at all? Actually.

David Beckham24:12

As we all know.

David Beckham24:18

He said

David Beckham24:22

At the beginning because her manager and my manager now, Simon Fuller, he was very protective over the girls. So at the time he kind of wanted to keep it quiet. So every time that I went on a date with her, you know, we were in a car park and we just used to sit in the car park and talk. And this particular time I had an amazing bright blue BMW. I had spent my whole pay packet at the time from Adidas on this one car. So I had this amazing car but still living in lodgings. I drove down, I picked her up and I think I remember having sunburn at the time because she turned up with this aloe vera plant that she gave me which I thought was very sweet. And we used to sit in a harvester car park and we used to just kind of, you know, kiss, of course, and spend time together. And that was how the first two or three months before anyone knew, that's how we used to spend our time.

Presenter24:32

So every

Presenter25:21

Tell me about your fondest memory.

Presenter25:26

From what I can only describe as your very low key wedding.

Presenter25:29

Um

Presenter25:32

There were doves, there were thrones, I mean you threw a lot at it.

David Beckham25:33

Yeah, we did throw a lot at it because it was the thing to do around that time and we have renewed our vows since then. It was a lot more private. There was about six people there in our house.

Presenter25:42

Happy.

Presenter25:46

When you look back at it now with Victoria, the his and hers purple matching outfits

David Beckham25:50

Yeah, that was both.

Presenter25:51

Old.

David Beckham25:51

It was

Presenter25:51

It was bold that

David Beckham25:52

was bowed. Yeah.

Presenter25:53

What do you say to each other when you look back at it now?

David Beckham25:54

Stay sweet.

David Beckham25:55

Um well Victoria's was pretty nice. Mine and I'm like what was I thinking? I looked like uh the guys out of Dumb and Dumber when they went to that party and they wore those ridiculous outfits. I even had a top hat in purple as well. Unbelievable.

Presenter26:12

I'd like to see that for what's up.

David Beckham26:12

I'd like to see that for cool.

Presenter26:14

I don't think that photograph made it into OK. I mean, famously, you sold the rights at the time to OK. I don't know how much you got paid, but I'm sure it was a lot of money, and they say that they sold, I think it was five point five million copies in a month.

Speaker 326:18

Uh

David Beckham26:18

Big

David Beckham26:25

Months.

Presenter26:26

I mean, that's extraordinary.

David Beckham26:27

I was watching. Well, there was a lot of interest in us at the time. You know, I was obviously a Manchester United player. She was a Spice girl. But you.

Presenter26:34

But you were building that interest. You were young, but you understood that relationship between feeding the hungry beast of the media, giving them enough to be interested and all of that.

David Beckham26:42

Well to be honest, I was always a private person, you know, and obviously in Victoria's world at the time, you know, everything that they did was scrutinised, everything that they did was on the front pages, back pages, didn't matter where it was, and all of a sudden we were together, so there was an opportunity for even more media to talk about us or take pictures of us. And I was part of a Manchester United team with Sir Alex Ferguson, and at the time I didn't see it like that, but obviously the manager felt that it was kind of a distraction for me. I never took it onto the field with me, I never took it onto training, but obviously I could see the manager's perspective on it looking back.

Presenter27:21

There was a point I mean, you know, you had many, many, many years of it, of this sort of scrutiny and scrutiny of your relationship, and your presence as a couple in the press was was constant from the minute that you got together. There was a time in two thousand four

Presenter27:37

You had decided that you would sue the News of the World for libel. They had run a story claiming that, you know, for image and for financial reasons you were cynically and hypocritically trying to convince the public that your marriage was perfect.

Presenter27:49

The case was subsequently settled out of court, and you said at the time, Nothing will break me and Victoria up, and you have been together now for was it, twenty years? Yeah, twenty years, nineteen years. I wonder what it is, and this is a rare thing.

David Beckham27:58

Yeah, we see that now.

Presenter28:04

You are a couple amid all that scrutiny and hoo-ha that has stayed together.

Presenter28:09

Highly public partnership.

Presenter28:13

Why has your marriage been successful? Why are you still together?

David Beckham28:16

I think because we're a strong family unit, you know, we've got strong parents, we were brought up with the right values. Of course, you make mistakes over the years and we all know marriage is difficult at times and it's about working through it. And whenever we've come up against tough times, you know, we know each other better than anybody knows us. So, you know, we talk, we have amazing children, we have an amazing life which we're very respectful of. But we are also, you know, private people as well. You know, people have talked about, you know, do we stay together because it's a brand? Of course not. You know, we stay together because we love each other. We stay together because we have four amazing children. And do you go through tough times? Of course you go through tough times. That's part of relationships. It's part of marriages. It's part of having children. It's part of having responsibilities. You know, back when we were 22, 23 years old, the only responsibility that we had was to ourselves and to our jobs at the time. And, you know, we're very respectful of our life. And when we do go through tough times, we work through them as a family, as a unit.

Presenter29:31

Let's have some more music, David Beckham. Tell me about what we're going to hear now. This is your fifth choice. Well, the fifth choice.

David Beckham29:36

This might surprise people, this next song just reminds me of Madrid, Real Madrid. It reminds me of the four years that I spent there. Victoria laughed at me because I always kind of jump into the culture from day one. You know, for instance, if I go to America, I want to listen to great rap artists and go to basketball. And I did... the same when I moved to Madrid. You know, I knew that I had to learn the language. So I went to a Spanish bar, used to sit there on my own eating hamon and having a ceza. And so this next artist is really an amazing talent and a good friend. It's Alejandro Sans.

Speaker 330:20

Uh

Speaker 330:22

Er el ta ta este que di me conquiena, bluajora no ve que no soy ciguale. Ere la den que da testo migo. Prometo darte torno, darte malorato. Yo te prometo si me cuch al niña. Darte, arte.

Speaker 330:38

Quedo lo mimos, que queda tellaberemos, queda te aberemos.

Speaker 330:45

No, vimo ser que estar. Nuelo vimo estar que quedar se que var. Tampoco que darce civan que parano.

Presenter30:57

That was Alejandro Sanz. And can you do this for me? You'll do it better because you speak Spanish and I don't.

David Beckham31:00

Because you speak Spanish like that.

Presenter31:03

And could you do this interview in Spanish? Are you um I think

David Beckham31:06

I think if I was warmed up I could probably do quite a bit of it in Spanish, but uh

Presenter31:11

I mean you're off the hoop'cause I can't speak Spanish.

David Beckham31:12

The hoo, cause I can't.

Speaker 331:12

Can't speak Spanish.

Presenter31:14

Let's talk for a moment then about one of the other hugely significant relationships. You've touched on it a little, and that is.

Presenter31:22

Sir Alex Ferguson. He he wrote in his autobiography that you were the only player he'd managed who chose to be famous. Now that is a well that is a carefully chosen phrase from a man who knows you know knows what he's getting at. Yes, indeed. Um I know you're reconciled now. I know you're I don't know if you're the best of mates, but you certainly get on.

Speaker 231:33

Yeah.

David Beckham31:35

Yeah.

Speaker 231:35

Yeah.

Presenter31:41

When you didn't get on, and let's just accept there was a page when you didn't, what was the crux of the problem?

Presenter31:47

Yeah.

David Beckham31:47

Um I think there was a few things. Obviously, I was young at the time and of course, you know, you make mistakes and you make decisions that you wouldn't, you know, do now, for instance. You know, at forty one years old, I'm a I'd like to think that I'm more grown up and a little bit more wiser than I was when I was twenty one years old. So there were certain decisions that I made.

David Beckham32:08

Back then, that were wrong decisions, and I can see why the manager got so frustrated by certain things and

Presenter32:14

Like what like what?

David Beckham32:15

Certain situations. I think at the time the manager felt that I was driving down to London too many times during the week when actually I wasn't. But at the time there was so much media attention around me and Victoria. People were thinking that I was living in London and driving up to Manchester to train, which I would never have done. You know, I'm very professional. So there's certain moments where, for instance, Victoria was in Ireland, I had a day off, so I flew over to Ireland and I didn't feel that I needed to tell the manager what I was doing. As I was coming back at six o'clock in the morning for training, I was sat in the lounge and the manager walked in.

David Beckham32:58

Yeah.

Presenter32:58

He walked in'cause he knew you were there or he walked in because he happened to walk in.

David Beckham33:00

And he walked in because he happened to walk in. He happened to walk in. So I can. What did he say?

Presenter33:04

What are these

David Beckham33:06

He didn't say anything.

David Beckham33:07

He didn't talk to me.

David Beckham33:09

So I knew that I was obviously in a little bit of trouble. I can understand the manager then thinking, Okay, maybe he's not looking after his body or he's not resting as much as he should do, because all the manager ever wanted was the best for the team, the best for the club, the best for the individual and the best for the player.

Presenter33:28

But the Nadir, the the low point of course was that very visual moment when in the changing room where Sir Alex kicked the boot, the boot flies across the room and it clocks you right on the nut. I don't know if you actually had stitches on your eyebrow, but you certainly had a tweet

David Beckham33:39

He's like a butterfly stick.

Presenter33:41

So the next day the world sees that stitch and the world knows this is the most perfect illustration we could have of how badly it's going.

David Beckham33:44

Perfect illustration we could have. We'd just lost the game to Arsenal, who were our massive rivals at the time, and the manager kind of felt that either one or two of the goals was my fault. And at the time

David Beckham33:57

I was young, I argued back, and when you argue back with the manager, it doesn't go well. And the manager obviously had come to me and I said, you know, I don't think that's my fault. That's not my fault. And I kept on saying, that's not my fault. And the manager walked towards me and he kicked the pile of clothes that were on the floor. And believe it or not, there was a boot that he kicked and came flying towards me and it hit me in the eye and my eye started bleeding straight away. So it was a freak accident. And we said it at the time he could never probably do it again because I've seen him in training. And he admits that, even though he does think that he's one of the best strikers of all time in the game. But no, it was a freak accident. But obviously, then that was an opportunity to talk about it in the media, opportunity for them to be pulled out. This is the end of my Manchester United career.

Presenter34:48

To be pulled in.

Presenter34:52

Well, the end of it was in 2003. You were I think I've read that you were on holiday in the States when you saw this statement from United that they were going to sell you to Barcelona, and it was the first you'd heard of it.

David Beckham34:59

And

Speaker 235:02

Yeah.

Presenter35:03

In private, what was your reaction?

Presenter35:05

Yeah.

David Beckham35:05

Um

David Beckham35:06

Shocked and I was devastated because we'd just won the league that season.

Presenter35:10

And you have said you would never have left. You would have been there till your last play.

David Beckham35:14

Without a doubt. Without a doubt. Because Manchester United was my team, I had no aspirations to actually leave Manchester United.

Presenter35:21

And so in private were you?

Presenter35:23

Were you as hurt as you were mad? Were you as mad as you were bent on revenge?

David Beckham35:27

What what was going to do?

Presenter35:27

What what was going through your head? Yeah.

David Beckham35:28

There was never any revenge. You know, I was hurt. I think I was angry at the time, just the way the situation had gone, because throughout that season I'd been left out of certain games, but I never thought that it would lead to me leaving Manchester United. But I'd heard rumours that this might be coming up and I might be getting sold. So then I was on holiday in the States with Victoria, and one of my friends phoned me and said, It's just been on Sky that Man United have agreed terms with Barcelona. So I was like, that's not true. I've not known anything about it. So I then flew back to London. I tried to speak to Peter Kenyon. He was one of the directors. And I said, can I speak to the manager? And he said, nope. And I said, well, I need to speak to the manager to understand what's going on. He said, no.

David Beckham36:18

He said it's true, we have agreed a deal and that's when I spoke to my agent at the time and said if I am going to move, I want to move to Real Madrid.

David Beckham36:29

And within a day I was sat with the President of Real Madrid and uh we agreed that that's the club that where I was going to go.

Presenter36:39

And how long did it take you? You said you felt hurt. How long is it before the hurt healed?

David Beckham36:43

Um

David Beckham36:44

I honestly didn't watch Manchester United play for three years.

David Beckham36:48

I couldn't. You know, I spoke to Gary Gary Neville every weekend after games, um, but I honestly didn't watch a Manchester United game for three years.

Presenter36:59

David Beckham, let's have your next piece of music, your sixth one. Tell me about this.

David Beckham37:02

I love this song when I hear it it's such a strong powerful song and sung by one of the best bands of all time and whenever I've gone through a tough time or whether I'm on the way to a game this is one song that reminds me of great occasions so this next song is by the Rolling Stones

Speaker 337:29

Oh since

Speaker 337:42

I won't see.

Speaker 337:46

Good friend me aware.

Presenter37:54

That was The Rolling Stones and Wild Horses. You said, David Beckham, going into that, that apart from the fact that you just love it as a beautiful song, you also love it because at times it gets you through the tough times. And one of the tough times that we haven't even touched on, it's a long time ago now, that was 1998, the World Cup finals, you famously were sent off for kicking out at an Argentine player and the press went into some sort of meltdown over this.

Presenter38:18

as a result of what you did and the publicity that surrounded it. I mean, you I've read you received death threats, people sent you bullets in the post. I have seen the picture of an effigy of you hanging from a lamp post, which turned my blood cold. What helped you through that tough time?

David Beckham38:35

Um, my family, Manchester United, Sir Alex Hergson. The first person to call me after that game was Sir Alex Hergson. He said, Son, get back to Manchester, you'll be fine. And that gave me strength to actually get through

David Beckham38:52

Probably the toughest time that I've been through in my life, in my career, and I didn't realize how bad it was going to be and how bad it was going to get until I remember getting off the plane and I was getting a connecting flight after we landed with the team. And as I was walking through that terminal, there was a journalist and a camera crew following me and they was like, How do you feel? You've let your grandparents down, you've let your sisters down, you've let your nation down, you've let yourself down.

David Beckham39:21

And and it was at a time where

David Beckham39:25

My wife had told me that we were expecting our first child, so it should have been a happy time, and it wasn't. And I look back at it, and it was such a

David Beckham39:33

difficult time, not just for myself, because

David Beckham39:38

I knew once I was back in Manchester, I was protected. I had the support of the fans every single game. Every time that I walked up to take a corner, the whole stadium just stood up and clapped me and sang my name. And I I mean, I get emotional talking about it because it was such a difficult time.

David Beckham39:57

But it was more difficult for my grandparents. You know, they were being doorstepped by journalists. You know, my grandparents were seventy years old with people knocking on their doors, you know, asking questions about their grandson, you know, saying things that I don't want my grandparents hearing about their grandson. And that was

David Beckham40:16

The most difficult part for me, knowing that my parents were going through it, my sisters were going through it.

Presenter40:22

How did you protect that th your family? What did you do?

David Beckham40:24

Um

David Beckham40:25

The only thing that I could do to protect them was to say

David Beckham40:29

You know, don't open the door to these people. Don't talk to them.

Presenter40:33

Well, let's talk a little bit more then for a moment about family. And and it is not always the easiest gig, being the children, I imagine, of very famous parents.

Presenter40:44

Your children inevitably, of course they've led a privileged life. You travel all over the world for UNICEF and you go to some of the hardest hit places among among poverty and social deprivation that that we can only imagine. Do you take the kids along?

David Beckham40:59

the kids yet. I plan on taking the do the children because I think it's important that they see what daddy does or also what mummy does because you know I always come back off these trips and I take a lot of pictures, I love photography and I want the children to know what I've been doing. You know there's certain things that you want to shield the children from but there's also a lot of things that they need to know. So when I come back off these trips I sit with them, I show them pictures, I explain what needs to be done and Brooklyn now is coming up to his eighteenth birthday so

Presenter41:02

And

David Beckham41:32

He will be coming on a trip at some point with me, but I think it's so important that the children see what's going on.

Presenter41:38

You mentioned Brooklyn. He he's recently done some professional photography for the fashion brand Burberry. Romeo's done Modelling Cruise just before Christmas released this single. Those are all very public things. And I've heard you say, well, those are the things my kids are interested in. Do you worry about the criticism they get? Do you worry about the exposure they get? You know, they're they're young.

Presenter41:58

I mean it

David Beckham41:58

We can't control the exposure that they get. They are part of a family that has been quite famous for quite a few years, so they are always going to get attention. We protect our children as much as we can and people can be critical of children, which I still feel unbelievable that a person can criticise an 11-year-old, a 14-year-old, a 17-year-old, a five-year-old, you know, that's that's bullying. And we'll always support our children no matter what. If people want to be critical of that, they're in the public eye anyway. All we can do is protect them as much as we can.

Presenter42:39

We're not going to hear Cruiser Single have to say. It's not on your list. I don't know if you'll get it. It's trouble for that on my.

David Beckham42:41

Not on your list. I don't know if you'll get in the middle of the list.

Presenter42:45

Tell me about what we are gonna hear though, because this this is your seventh.

David Beckham42:45

Yeah.

David Beckham42:48

This song makes me emotional when I hear it and think back to the memories of why I've picked this. There's special moments that you have with your children. When Harper was only a few weeks old, I used to try and make her smile and blow raspberries on her belly and give her kisses. And as I changed her nappy or just held her to my chest, this was one song where I just, you know, and I'm I'm not really a dancer, so it was kind of a jig from side to side and I used to spin around and it was that song where I look back and that was my special moment with my little girl. And it's Michael Jackson featuring Paul McCartney.

Speaker 343:26

Every night she walks right in my dreams Since I met her from the start I'm so proud I am the only one Who expressed she'll live her heart The girl is mine

Speaker 343:42

The dog gone, girl, isn't mine

Speaker 343:49

And oh she's mine

Speaker 343:54

The dog gone against mine

Speaker 244:01

I don't understand the way you think Saying that she's yours not

Presenter44:06

That was Michael Jackson featuring Paul McCartney and The Girl Is Mine. You chose that for your youngest, your daughter, Harper. Um David Beckham, I hear you've found a passion for cooking. If I was lucky enough to be invited round for dinner, what would you be rustling up? What's your signature dish?

David Beckham44:21

Yeah.

Presenter44:21

Few were

David Beckham44:21

The coming round.

David Beckham44:23

One of the things that I did when I lived in Milan was I took a cookery culinary class and it was for six months and I used to do two or three days a week after I'd trained. I used to go into this Italian school of cooking and learn how to make fresh pasta, ragu, risotto. And my kids, it's one of their favorite foods. It's something that they enjoy. So if you was coming round for dinner

Presenter44:36

Where?

David Beckham44:47

It'd be a simple salad and then it would be fresh pasta with ragu.

Presenter44:52

You are not afraid of sending yourself up. I watched recently the spoof underwear ad that you did with James Gordon, where you were both in your pants.

David Beckham44:52

I you

David Beckham44:59

But yeah

Presenter45:01

You came off better in that particular comparison. Are the underwear shoots are they a thing of the past?

Speaker 245:03

Killer comparison.

David Beckham45:10

With the skits, I enjoy those. You know, I trust James and what he does. But as far as the underwear ads, I don't think that I'll be doing them anymore just because I'm 41 years old. I'm sure people were fed up with seeing me in my underwear over the years anyway, so I think it was time to actually just step back and maybe let Brooklyn do it at some point, but we'll see.

Presenter45:33

Fame can be a lonely place because it's difficult to walk into a room.

Presenter45:39

and to always know that somebody wants the autograph or the selfie.

Presenter45:43

People always want something from you.

Speaker 245:45

Yeah.

Presenter45:46

Where is it in your life where you feel free of that, where you think I can just be?

Presenter45:51

You know, you deal with it with great grace, but it is a thing to be dealt with.

David Beckham45:56

It is. And my safe place was always on the pitch. It's where I felt most confident. It's where I felt at home. And of course my house, my home. We make it that it's it's very private. The amazing thing about my career and my life, you know, I did play professionally for 22 years and you know I'm so fortunate to have done what I've done and lived the life that I've lived. And I I wouldn't change anything.

David Beckham46:25

I'm very fortunate.

Presenter46:27

Your legacy in playing is clear.

Presenter46:29

In the next twenty-two years, what would you like people to talk about David Beckham for doing?

David Beckham46:35

But

Presenter46:35

I think

David Beckham46:35

I think more than anything that is one of the most important things in my life at the moment is my charity work. That for me

David Beckham46:44

is what gives me the most pleasure out of anything that I do. You know, the businesses that I have, of course they're very important to me. You know, the life that I have, obviously my family is my number one. But it's not just about the amount of money that we raise. It's meeting these children. It's knowing that we're changing children's lives. We're you know protecting children from HIV and AIDS. That for me gives me the most pleasure.

Presenter47:14

Tell me about our last piece of music, why have you chosen this?

David Beckham47:17

Again, I think this will be kind of surprising for many people, but it's.

David Beckham47:24

It was such an important moment in my life because I'd spent so many years as a professional footballer. At some point I knew that it had to come to an end. And that was one of the most difficult decisions that I made. And even though I said it at the time, you know, I'm moving on to another phase of my life, I didn't think it would be playing again. But I had a phone call from the owners of PSG and they said, we haven't won the league for 19 years. We'd love you to come and be part of the team and hopefully help us win a championship. And as excited as I was to move back to London, there's no way I could turn down an opportunity to at least play again for another one of the top teams in the game. And at the time, Victoria was upset because she felt, you know, this was the time for us to be together as a family. But she knew that this was what was best for me. She knew that it was what was best for us as well. And she was fully supportive, you know, in the end for this. So this next song, I've picked it for reflections. I've picked it for Paris, for France. And it reminds me of such an important moment in my career, you know, the moment that I retired. And it's quite emotional because I finished playing. It's Sydney Boucher.

Speaker 349:05

Uh

Speaker 349:07

Turn.

Presenter49:41

That was Sidney Becher and Citouvoie Ma Mer. So, David Beckham, we are nearly at the end of this very special seventy-fifth anniversary programme. Before I cast you away, I give all of my guests the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare, and they get to take another book along with those two. What's your book going to be?

David Beckham49:58

I I really thought about this. Well my book is one of my passions. I was lucky enough to have met this man and have him cook for me. It's a book by Francis Malmon on Fire. It's a book where he teaches you to cook anywhere and I thought if I'm stuck on an island I could rustle up something.

Presenter50:18

That's yours then. And you're allowed a luxury too, and it's something that's going to offer a little bit of comfort. What would your luxury be? My luxury

David Beckham50:24

would have to be something that's very precious to me. People always say, Oh, you actually get given a physical cap and you do. It's this amazing velvet cap with this gold trimming. So I would take my England cap.

Presenter50:31

Yeah.

Presenter50:37

Okay, they are yours then.

David Beckham50:37

Uh

Presenter50:39

And if you had to rescue just one of these eight disks that you have so carefully chosen, which one disc would it be?

David Beckham50:49

The one that I would rescue out of all of them would have to be Ella Fitzgerald every time we say goodbye.

Presenter50:57

It's yours. David Beckham, thank you very much for letting us hear your desert island dissipation. Thank you very much.

David Beckham51:00

And

Presenter51:47

You've been listening to a download from the BBC.

Presenter51:49

You'll find more information on the Radio 4 website bbc.co.uk slash Radio4

Speaker 352:19

This is the B B C.