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- [00:02]
Host
Lemonade. You can listen to every episode of this Life of Mine ad free. With Lemonada Premium. You'll get access to a quick fire round of questions with this week's guest. And I mean quickfire really quick, like two minutes or less. Just tap that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts or head to lemonade premium.com to subscribe on any other app. That's lemonade premium.com oh, Hello and welcome to this Life of Mine, the show where our incredible guests pick the places, people, possessions, music and memories that have made them who they are. I couldn't be more excited about today because joining us is one of the planet's best known and best loved sporting icons. And his natural gift and childhood football obsession led him from the East End of London to global fame. Having been deemed not good enough to play for the East End's finest club, West Ham United, he had to make do with a career that included clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, L.A. galaxy and Paris St. Germain, becoming the first English player to win league titles in four different countries. Countries. Now, today, he is a businessman with media and fashion empires and is, of course the owner of Inter Miami fc. He works on a ridiculous number of projects, as well as being a husband, father, and now, as we all know, an amateur beekeeper. I'm very excited about today's show. Are you ready?
- [01:45]
David Beckham
I'm ready.
- [01:46]
Host
Then take us away.
- [01:48]
David Beckham
I'm David Beckham. Welcome to this Life of Mine.
- [02:03]
Host
Thank you so much for being here. I'm so happy that you're here. We've known each other since 2008 was when we first met. So when I started thinking about this show and guests that I wanted, you were one of the first people that I reached out to see if you would do it. And you said something to me that I'd never actually heard because this was around about the. I think it was about a week before the Netflix doc came out and you said, I'll 100% do it, but can we wait until everything's died down a bit? Yeah, which I felt like I'd never heard you say before. How has it been this last few months since the documentary came out? Has it felt overwhelming?
- [02:39]
David Beckham
I think it's one of the first times that I've actually ever been overwhelmed by something that we've done as a business and personally and as a family. Going into the documentary, you know, it took me a few years to actually agree to even do something like this because, you know, we are very private. And then obviously to do something like this to celebrate the things I've won and my family life and things like that. And I just didn't expect it to have the reaction that it had. I knew that people would like seeing the football, I knew people would like seeing, obviously the family stuff. But the reaction has been incredible. And it's not just obviously been uk Europe, it's been on a global level. And wherever I've gone, everyone's seen it, from like 10 year old kids to 80 year old granddads. And the reaction has been unbelievable. And for the last six weeks, I've literally had to just stop doing stuff because I needed to rest, because it took actually so much out of me, more than I expected it to.
- [03:44]
Host
I've found it really interesting talking to friends in America, obviously all of us in the uk, for us, there's a huge nostalgia looking back on all these stories, these moments, the ups, the downs, the highs of it, the lows of it, all of it. But then in America, I found people I've spoken to have been like, oh my God, I had no idea he was so vilified. People have been like, I just didn't even know, like, didn't even know about the sending off against Argentina, all those things. Did it take a lot for you to make the decision to go? I'm gonna look back at this.
- [04:18]
David Beckham
It did, because I'd never done that. That was the toughest part. You know, there was parts of my life and my career that I actually didn't really want to go over again. Yeah, that was the reason why it took me so long to come to terms, to talking about it. And I found it unbelievably hard to sit there and to talk to a director about 1998, because it was such a struggle that whole year and a couple of years after that was so tough. On the pitch, off the pitch, just getting through that was difficult. But in all honesty, at the time, it didn't feel like that. At the time I was so protected by Sir Alex Ferguson, I was so protected by Manchester United, my teammates and the fans. There was a bubble around me, Right. And when I sat and looked at the archive, I was like, wow, I don't remember that. Even some of the stuff, you know, that people were saying about me at the time, I'd never seen. Yeah. So it was quite surprising and really hard to actually just listen to.
- [05:18]
Host
Well, today we're gonna cover a lot in your life, but we're gonna talk about a person, a place, a possession, a memory. We've also asked you for A sporting moment, which I can't wait to talk about what you've chosen. We're gonna start with your music. Tell us the song that you've chosen as significant in your life.
- [05:36]
David Beckham
This is a difficult one because obviously having a Spice Girl as a wife. One of my favorite songs is a Spice Girl song.
- [05:45]
Host
Which one?
- [05:46]
David Beckham
So you'll be there, really? Yeah.
- [05:48]
Host
I thought you were like a two become one guy.
- [05:50]
David Beckham
It's my favorite because it was a song that was on the TV when I was sat in my room with Gary Neville and it came on the telly. And that was when I turned around to Gary and said, I'm gonna marry that one in the short black dress.
- [06:04]
Host
It was, say you'll be there.
- [06:05]
David Beckham
Say you were there. Wow. Yeah. And a black catsuit.
- [06:14]
Host
Yes.
- [06:15]
David Beckham
But in all honesty, you know, I grew up in Manchester. You know, obviously I'm from the East End of London. I moved to Manchester when I was 15 and spending the 90s in. In Manchester was an unbelievable time in my life. So the song that I'm gonna have to say would be I am the Resurrection by Stone Ro.
- [06:42]
Host
Never bring myself to hate you as I. I'm so happy that you chose this track. It really takes everybody back to a time. You were 17 when this track came out. What was 17 year old David Beckham like?
- [07:04]
David Beckham
Shy, quiet, and it was all about football for me. You know, I obviously moved up to Manchester when I was 15 years old and I. I was then just trying to survive and stay at Manchester United, because at the time, you know, obviously like you said at the start of this, I'd trained at West Ham, I trained at Tottenham, I trained at Arsenal.
- [07:23]
Host
I really did put that in as.
- [07:25]
David Beckham
A joke, but I actually trained at West Ham.
- [07:28]
Host
They must have offered you a contract. And you said they offered me a.
- [07:31]
David Beckham
Contract, but it was between Tottenham and Man United. My grandad was a season ticket holder at Tottenham for 50 years. So I was kind of torn between the two, you know, Tottenham, because my granddad, Man United, I'd always been a Man United fan from the moment I can remember, and my dad was a United fan. So soon as United come knocking, that was it.
- [07:53]
Host
Yeah. And what's interesting, like, so this song came out in 1992, which was a monumental year in your life. That's the year that you broke into the Man United team along with five other youth team players in the class of 92. Not everyone listening to this will know what Manchester was like in the 90s. I didn't know what Manchester was like in the 90s. But all I knew was this might be the coolest place in Britain at the moment. What do you remember about Manchester at this time?
- [08:20]
David Beckham
It was 100% the coolest place. You know, I'm an East End boy, but living in Manchester in the 90s, you know, I think I only went to the Hacienda once, but it was all about the Hacienda, you know, Happy Mondays. Oasis was starting Stone Roses, you know, and the rivalry always between Manchester United, Man City. The City was just a joy to be around, you know. And I think the fact that I moved out of London when I was so young to move up to Manchester with really down to earth hard working people, that gave me the stability to become a Manchester United player. That was why I knew that I needed to work hard. You know, my mum and dad always worked hard, so I, I got it from them. But then when I moved up to Manchester, away from my parents, then it was down to Eric Harrison, Nobby Styles, Jim Ryan, Brian Kidd, Archie Knox and Sir Alex Ferguson.
- [09:16]
Host
When did you know that you were not just good at football but you were like, oh, hang on, no, I'm really good at this. When did you know?
- [09:27]
David Beckham
Probably when I finished playing.
- [09:28]
Host
Oh, no, stop. There must have been a point when you were 11 and you scored 28 goals or.
- [09:35]
David Beckham
No, because my dad was so tough on me as a young kid. You know, I lived in a household that was so loving. You know, my mum and dad worked hard, they were amazing. I had two sisters and we lived in a household with a lot of love in it. But my dad was so tough on me with my Sunday League football team that he very rarely turned around to me and said, well done, boy. You did well today. You played well. He'd say it, but then he'd say, but this is what you can do better and this is what you should be doing. And if you just did that, you would be able to score or cross those balls like that. So I never really sat down and thought, do you know what? I'm playing for Man United, I'm playing for England, I'm great. Never, because I'll never allow myself to.
- [10:21]
Host
Think that that's crazy to me.
- [10:23]
David Beckham
But my dad never told me I'd done well, really, until my hundredth cap. That was the first time my dad turned round to me and said, you've made it, boy. That was the first time. Not even, you know, when I got into the United first team. Not even when I won the Premiership, not even when I won the Champions League. It was the moment that we were sat at dinner after I'd won my hundredth cap in Paris, and he put his arm around me, and it makes me emotional, but he put his arm around me and he said, you made it, boy. And that was the first time he really kind of acknowledged the career that I'd had.
- [11:05]
Host
Do you wonder if that's the reason for your relentless nature?
- [11:12]
David Beckham
100%.
- [11:13]
Host
It's because of that.
- [11:14]
David Beckham
100%. Throughout my career, I went through certain moments that if my dad wasn't as tough with me as he was when I was playing for Ridgeway Rovers and Brimstone, I might not have been able to get through those moments. 98. You know, all of these kind of moments that could have knocked me and made me think, do you know what? Why am I playing this game? All of those moments where my dad was hard on me as a kid, there was a reason for it. Those tough moments that I had in my career, all I knew was, was to put my head down and work hard. It wasn't about showing people, or maybe it was, but it was more about, do you know what? This is all I know. When I get shouted at, when I get told that I can't do something, I'm just gonna do it anyway, and I'm gonna do it until I get it right.
- [12:02]
Host
Well, you got it right a lot. We asked you for a wild card topic. We asked you to pick a sporting moment. And I. Before I got your list a couple of nights ago, I was like, what is he gonna do? There's so many. There's so many things you could choose. Tell us the sporting moment that you've chosen.
- [12:19]
David Beckham
The sporting moment that I have chosen has to be the halfway line goal against Wimbledon in 1996.
- [12:27]
Host
Okay, talk me through it. Set the scene for me. This is against Wimbledon, first game of.
- [12:32]
David Beckham
The season away at Wimbledon at Celehse Park. Yeah, we'd already won the game. There was a few minutes left in the game, and about 10 minutes before that, Jordi Cruyff had tried to chip the goalkeeper from about 30 yards, right? And I remember looking over the manager and he was fuming. He had a bit of a red. He had a red. He had a red face. Eric Cantonol stood next to him, right? And I thought, that's not going to go down very well. Jordi's probably going to get an earful at the end of the game. And then about eight minutes later, Brian McLare won the ball in midfield. He just knocked it forward, and it was just before the halfway line. And I saw o' Sullivan off his line, I thought, why not? If I miss, I miss. If it goes in, then great. And to be honest, I'd done this as a young kid. You know, one of the things I always focused on as a young kid was striking at the ball. You know, my dad always would stand 20, 30, 40, 50 yards away from me, put his arms out and say, put it in my hands. And that was what I always practiced. So the moment this ball came to me, it kind of went back to the youth team days where I used to play these passes.
- [13:47]
Host
Sure.
- [13:47]
David Beckham
And my coach at the time, it was Eric Harrison, would say, stop playing those Hollywood passes. Stop playing those Hollywood passes. And I would not listen, and I would continue to play them. So this ball just got knocked to me end of the game, and I hit it so cleanly. And I remember watching it go out to the left, and then all of a sudden it started bending back in. And I thought, this has got a chance. And the only thing that I regret after that, my celebration. I put my arms up in the air and I spit. I don't know why I spat. I just obviously needed to. And that obviously is part of the celebration. But then all the players are all over me. And then, to be honest, that was the goal that changed my life. Yeah, that was the moment that changed my life. But the first thing the manager said to me was, david, get on the bus. Do not speak to anyone. No interview.
- [14:42]
Host
I'm going to talk to you about this. So, Sir Alex Ferguson is, without question, arguably the greatest football manager of all time. And if you want to debate that, you have to put him in the top two or three. He is.
- [14:53]
David Beckham
He is number one.
- [14:54]
Host
Yeah. And this moment he just says, you're not talking to any media. You're not doing an interview, because the entire country would have wanted to talk to you at that point.
- [15:04]
David Beckham
I think at that point.
- [15:05]
Host
And other managers may have let their players talk, I guess.
- [15:08]
David Beckham
Do you think? I think other managers wouldn't have seen a problem with going out after scoring a goal like that and talking to the media. I think the manager had an intuition always with all of the young players, how to look after them. And he knew what to do to protect each of the players that had grown up in the Manchester United academy come through. He understood exactly what they needed. Even though most of the time we didn't agree with what the manager, you know, was saying and telling us to do at times, we never went against him, ever. And if we did we knew about it. So him kind of protecting us, you know, as 15 years old, he had us all doing media training because he kind of. I think he believed that we were going to be the future of Manchester United for a long time.
- [16:01]
Host
Were you aware when you left the field, things are going to be different now? Or when did you start to realize?
- [16:07]
David Beckham
To be honest, I didn't even think about it. I don't think about things like that. You know, I don't think that if I do something then it's going to change my life. I just was really happy to score a goal like that and even more excited to have Eric Cantona come up to me in the change room after and say, what a goal. Wow, that was better than scoring the goal. Yeah, that was better than scoring the goal. After the boss had turned around to me and said, get on that bus. Don't talk to any media, no interviews, Eric came up to me and he literally sat next to me, said, david, what a goal.
- [16:39]
Host
It was an amazing moment. It makes me think about. I was lucky enough to go up to Manchester when you were filming the film the class of 92, which is about you, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Nicky Button, Paul Scholes, a team of youth team players who win the youth team cup all make it into the first team and win the Premier League, the FA cup and the European Champions League in the same season. It will never happen again in football. I really don't believe it will.
- [17:09]
David Beckham
I agree.
- [17:10]
Host
But I was up there and I don't know if you remember this. There's a sequence in the film where players like Ryan Giggs is dribbling and it's all in slow motion. I think it's in black and white. And me and Gabe Turner and Ben Turner, who made the film, hang a tire up in the corner of the goal for you to just beautifully spray one of these free kicks in. And we put it up on the right hand side of the goal and there's obviously, you're about to show off this incredible masterclass of free kick taking. Everyone's gathered round and the first one you missed by about 4 yards. The second one you missed by about 6 yards. The third one scuffs the bottom side of the post. And then Gabe, I remember the director of the film goes, let's clear everybody away. And Ben Turner, the other director, came up to you and said, dave, is there anything we can do to make this easier for you? And you said, I never hit free kicks into the right hand corner. I only ever put Them in the left. And no one's ever figured this out. And I think about it, I'm like, this is insane to me. That, no, why didn't the entire team just go, no, we know he can't put them on the right. We'll just all stand on the left.
- [18:27]
David Beckham
No, I remember most of my free kicks were left, top side of the goal, you know, top hand, left corner. But every now and again I would put one in the right, but my side was the left, you know, I scored a couple maybe against Southampton, away. I scored one on the right. I scored one for Real Madrid against Marseille. Top right. But my side was always top left. And if you remember, we moved the.
- [18:55]
Host
We moved it.
- [18:56]
David Beckham
We moved and I did it. First time.
- [18:57]
Host
Yeah, first time, second time, third time. And we were all. I remember being like, wow.
- [19:03]
David Beckham
I was quite relieved.
- [19:04]
Host
It's terrible. If you put it on the right. Yeah. Now this isn't going to be a shock to you. I have had now a 40 year struggle with my weight. I've had times where I've looked and felt great. I've had times where I've hated the way I looked and I've hated the way I felt. And I cannot tell you how many times I've really tried. I've tried everything. I've tried meal prepping and what I've realized is I, my willpower is terrible and I give in to cravings all the time. It's a constant struggle. But I wanted to tell you about cachava which has become an absolute game changer for me. Cachava, it's a whole body meal with 25 grams of 100% plant based protein and it actually tastes delicious. With every two scoops of Cachava you get 85 plus superfoods, nutrients and plant based ingredients. Now, I've been using cachava for a few months now. I cannot tell you the difference that I feel I have more energy, I have less brain fog, my digestion has improved and it's really improved my all round attitude towards food and cravings. Not only is it really, really easy to make and lots of these things aren't, it comes in great flavors. Chocolate is my personal favorite. Matcha is a very close second. But try them all out and see what's best for you. I cannot recommend this enough. Your future SEL will thank you. Go to cachava.com and use the code lifeofmine and you will get 15% off your next order. That's Kachava which is K-C-H-A-V A.com code life of mine 15% off. I promise you won't regret it. On this Life of Mine, we obviously spend a lot of time talking to incredible people about amazing moments they've had. But of course that only shows one side of somebody's life. And there's no question that every guest has had difficult times in their lives. And myself, I've always struggled with whether it's stress or extreme nerves. And unfortunately, finding a good therapist online who is both affordable and takes insurance can often just add to what is already a difficult and stressful moment in your life. Many online platforms don't work with insurance, which means you're stuck paying the full cost out of your own pocket. Well, Ruler does things differently. They partner with over 100 insurance plans, making the average copay just $15 per session. And it gets better. Ruala tailors the experience just for you by considering your goals, your preferences and background. And they provide you with a curated list of licensed in network therapists who are actually aligned with what you need. Ruler knows that finding the right therapist can make all the difference. Thousands of people are already using Ruler to get affordable, high quality therapy that's actually covered with by Insurance. Visit ruler.comlifeofmine to get started and after you sign up you'll be asked how you heard about them. And please support our show. Let them know that we sent you. That's r u l a.com life of mine, you deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. We really hope that whoever is out there listening to this finds the help that they need and know that all of us at this Life of Mine are right here by your side. Let's move on to your person that you've chosen. And I know there's a huge amount of significant people in your life, but tell us the person that you'd like to talk about on the show today.
- [23:21]
David Beckham
My person would have to be my wife, Victoria, 25 years married. We've been together for 27 years and we was only saying it the other day. You know, we actually quite like each other. It's important, you know, after being together for so many years, we can still sit, have dinner, laugh, joke or not say anything to each other. That's an important part of being in a relationship. You know, we were talking about it the other day and this person will name nameless. But we were sat there with them and a song came on and it was wham. And I turn around, I was like, oh my God, it's The best song ever. What? Amazing. And they turned around to me and went, who's Wham? What's Wham? And I was like, excuse me.
- [24:09]
Host
Oh, wow.
- [24:10]
David Beckham
And they were 30 years old. So it's not like, you know, we were saying, me, Victoria, how important it is to have those references in life. Because when you're sat there at dinner and something comes on and you're like, oh, do you remember this song? Do you remember where we were and what we were doing? You know, we've known each other for a long time, and when I first met Victoria and I talk about it in a documentary, I really just fancied her. I did. I just fancied her. I didn't know what she was like as a person. I just actually fancied her like most people did at that time. And I didn't know who I was marrying, who I was going to be with for the rest of my life. I didn't realize what a strong woman she was. And that is what really attracted me to her more than anything. Yes, she's beautiful. Yes, she was sexy. Yes, I fancied her. But in all honesty, I like a strong woman. And I like the fact that she works hard. I like the fact that she's a great mum. I like the fact that she looks after me sometimes, most of the time. And, you know, we've created this life with four amazing children, which are the most important things in our life. So that's why I chose Victoria.
- [25:30]
Host
What is it that she gives you in your life that you'd be lost.
- [25:35]
David Beckham
Without the way that she kind of runs the family? I think that is the most important thing to me, because family's always been important and. And the greatest thing she's ever given me is my four children.
- [25:50]
Host
When you met Victoria, you know, you talked about the halfway line goal, saying everything changed. I think when you met Victoria and you started dating, there was a whole other side of your life that just became incredibly public. And it felt like you were really starting to get noticed off the pitch and that you were enjoying this newfound thing. But, you know, I think about, like, the Mohawk, the sarong, but to be honest, the baby oil. Like, was there a point of you saying, I am going to transcend this sport?
- [26:24]
David Beckham
No, never. Never. I'm an East End boy, so I like my hair to look a certain way. I like nice trainers and nice clothes and nice cars and a watch, you know, but that was something at the time I couldn't afford. You know, as a youth team player, I was on 27 pound 50.
- [26:43]
Host
But there must be a moment. There must be a moment when you and Victoria are in a. I don't know if you're in a hotel room or a house. And she says, should we both wear leather tonight? And you go, yeah, would you know the fun? And you must know at that point. So you must know at that point when I'm gonna wear leather trousers and a leather jacket. And she says, and I'm gonna wear the same. You must on some level go, oh, yeah, this is gonna get a lot of attention.
- [27:05]
David Beckham
No, I didn't. I mean, we kind of knew that it would get attention, but we weren't doing it for the attention, you know, Obviously, she grew up as a pop star, so it was kind of different for her. I just did it because I like wearing clothes and doing different things and doing different hairstyles. The funny thing about that night was it could have been a lot worse because we lived for a certain amount of time in Victoria's mum and dad's house. So she went into her room to get ready, I went into my room to get ready, and we literally both came out. And it sounds like I'm just making this up. She had all leather on and I had all leather on.
- [27:44]
Host
No, come on. Really?
- [27:48]
David Beckham
That's how that went.
- [27:49]
Host
And then you both crack up laughing.
- [27:51]
David Beckham
On other occasions, we. We might have said, you know what? You wear that and I'll wear that. And it kind of goes well together. On that occasion, we both came out, we had full leather on. I mean, we'd obviously had clothes sent to us from. I think it was Gucci at the time, or Versace. So we'd had options, but we both picked the same option.
- [28:12]
Host
That's interesting.
- [28:13]
David Beckham
The part where I said, it could have been worse was I turned around to her, I said, wouldn't it be great if we could turn up on a motorbike? The worst idea in the world. Firstly, I couldn't ride motorbikes at that time. Secondly, I wasn't allowed to ride a motorbike.
- [28:28]
Host
That would have been a disaster.
- [28:30]
David Beckham
The boss.
- [28:31]
Host
Yeah.
- [28:31]
David Beckham
So, yeah.
- [28:32]
Host
I mean, Victoria very famously has a quote when she was at the start of the Spice Girls career, where someone asked a question to say, how big can the Spice Girls be? And she says, we're gonna be bigger than Britain's biggest selling washing powder.
- [28:48]
David Beckham
Yeah.
- [28:50]
Host
It was never, we're gonna be bigger than the Supremes. We're gonna be bigger than Diana Ross. We're gonna. You know, we're gonna be bigger than Mariah Carey. It was, we will be bigger than this brand. And that is an extraordinary way to look at your band, your career and music. And you have to say, she has fulfilled that.
- [29:09]
David Beckham
Yeah.
- [29:09]
Host
And come through on that in every way.
- [29:11]
David Beckham
Yeah.
- [29:12]
Host
Was there ever a point in your life, not in your relationship, but in your life at that time where you were thinking, this is really detracting from my life as a football player?
- [29:22]
David Beckham
Never really. Not at one point. I mean, everyone was worried around me, from Sir Alex Ferguson to my parents to probably some of my friends. But in all honesty, I knew deep down that if it ever affected my career, then not that we'd have broken up or gone our separate ways, but you'd have adjusted things. But I knew that it would never get in the way of my career. And like I said, you know, other people and friends around me probably were worried about it, because at the end of the day, I was a young kid from the East End of London playing for Manchester United, going out of a Spice Girl, who was globally the biggest girl band out there.
- [30:06]
Host
Without question.
- [30:07]
David Beckham
Without question. So, you know, there was times where people were worried. But in all honesty, I knew that it wouldn't affect my career. You know, I knew the moment that I stepped on that training pitch, that was what mattered. And it never once affected me. Even though, like I said, there were certain people that said. And it was quite hurtful, in all honesty, that people actually thought that, you know, my head wasn't in the game or going into a tournament, you know, I wasn't in the right place because they don't know me. Yeah, they don't know me in that way. And when I am going into any game, stepping onto a training pitch, playing in any tournament, that is all I care about.
- [30:49]
Host
It certainly didn't slow or alter your progress in any way, because this leads us nicely to your possession. Tell us the possession that is significant in your life.
- [31:01]
David Beckham
So the possession that I have picked is my gold cap for England. It's my hundredth game for England, and I won that in 2008.
- [31:12]
Host
Now you've bought it for us here, and I'm gonna very, very delicately try and take it out of this beautiful box that it's in. Let me get it, then we'll talk about it.
- [31:20]
David Beckham
You can just lift the top off.
- [31:22]
Host
Okay, so you have it here.
- [31:26]
David Beckham
Yeah.
- [31:27]
Host
Explain to our listeners what a cap is and the significance of it.
- [31:32]
David Beckham
So when you hear England players saying, I've won my first cap tonight, or I've got 70 caps throughout my England career, it is actually a Physical cap that you get given. And it goes back a long, long time. The England players, when they play for their country, they always get given a cap. So this is my gold cap for my hundredth game, which I played in Paris against France. And this was the moment, like I said, where I was sat there at dinner in Paris after I'd played the game, and my dad turned around to me and said, well done, boy. You made it. That's why this is so special to me. And even more special, Sir Bobby Charlton, who was my dad's hero and a player that I always looked up to. And my middle name is Robert, after Sir Bobby presented me with this hundredth cap. It's a special possession. And actually this hangs in my house. All of my caps. I've got 115 caps for my country. Obviously, this is the only gold one, so all the others are blue and they're all velvet like this with the tassel. And each one has the game and the date of when you won that cap. And they're all in my man cave. I had one room in the house where I was allowed to hang a few possessions from my career, and one of the only possessions from my career is all of my caps hanging in this room.
- [33:06]
Host
Is it the hundredth cap that means the most to you, or is it the moment with your father after the game?
- [33:16]
David Beckham
Um, I don't know. I think the moment my dad turned around to me and said I'd made it, that was kind of a. It was a real moment. I always knew my dad was proud of me, but I think for him to actually come out and say that to me, he knew what playing for England meant to me. I loved and always wanted to play for Manchester United, always. And I've loved playing for the other clubs that I've played for. The single most important thing to me in my career and the thing that I'm most proud of in my career is playing for my country, stepping out onto that stadium in front of our fans, whether they loved me or hated me, I loved every minute of every game that I played in. Even the games that we lost, even the games that we, you know, got knocked out of competitions, even when England fans were killing me at the time, I loved every moment of playing for my country.
- [34:20]
Host
Has your father's. Let's call it like a tough love approach. What impact has that had on you as a parent and your relationship with your kids?
- [34:32]
David Beckham
I'm definitely not as tough. I would like to say that I brought my children up with the same Values as what my dad and mum taught me and my sisters. My kids are very polite, my kids are very well mannered, my kids are humble and they all have the same values as what I have and my wife has. That's the proudest thing that we have as parents. In all honesty, I am different with my kids. I'm a lot softer than my dad was. But there's certain traits that I do have. The same as my dad.
- [35:08]
Host
I mean, because Romeo's playing football now.
- [35:10]
David Beckham
He is.
- [35:10]
Host
So what's that like?
- [35:12]
David Beckham
In all honesty, all three of the boys were in the Arsenal Academy at one point.
- [35:16]
Host
Are you the complete opposite? Are you like, you were amazing out there?
- [35:20]
David Beckham
No, I'm not. I go quiet, actually. And then the boys know exactly whether I'm happy or not happy. But I turned around to my youngest son at the time, Cruz, and I said to him, okay, if you play well today and you work really hard, we'll stop at McDonald's on the way home, right? And he played terrible. And I looked up the field and I was like, where is Cruz? And he was literally break dancing at the other end of the pitch. So he came off the pitch, he said, dad, how do you think I did? I was like, I mean, not great, son, but, you know, he said, can we have McDonald's? I was like, no, actually we can't. And I was starving. So I actually fancy the Big Mac and chips. And we didn't get Big Mac and chips and we didn't get Mac. So there's part of it.
- [36:03]
Host
Your dad would have driven to the drive through and just got it for himself and made you watch him eat it.
- [36:07]
David Beckham
He would have done.
- [36:08]
Host
He would have done. How long after getting your hundredth cap did you retire?
- [36:16]
David Beckham
I retired in, I think, five years after that, 2013.
- [36:23]
Host
What do you remember about your decision to retire? How long did it take you to go? No, I think really this is it, actually.
- [36:32]
David Beckham
It didn't take me long, in all honesty. I was 37 years old when I stopped playing for the LA Galaxy. We moved back from LA to London. I just assumed that, you know, that was it. And then I got a phone call from the president at Paris Saint Germain saying, we haven't won the League for, I think it was either 17 or 19 years. We're pretty close, but we kind of need a little bit of a push. Would you come and play for Paris for the rest of the season? Which was six months. So I turned around to Victoria after moving back to London and she thought that that was it and she had me home for every day. And I said, I'm going to have to do it. I can't not take up this opportunity to play for another great team in Europe and maybe win another championship and play with the likes of, you know, Zlatan Thio Silva at the time and all of these other great players that were playing. So I moved to Paris for six months. The kids stayed in school in London, and that six months. I knew about two months before the end of the season that I was gonna retire. I was 38, and I just felt different.
- [37:52]
Host
I came out to watch the Paris Saint Germain Barcelona game. It was the best night. And I remember seeing you after. And I think before this moment, I actually had a view that athletes are never in pain. I just think, well, they're so conditioned. They're so. They run all the time, they work out all the time, they eat healthily. Surely life is just a parade of joy and wonderful. You came out of that dressing room, you were like, ah, I remember you. You were really kind of almost struggling to walk, in a way. And I said, are you all right? And you. I remember you saying, that was horrible. You said to me, there was a moment you thought you. You were marking, I think, Messi, and you thought you had him, and you were like, oh, no, I can see where he is. He's there. And you said. You looked up and he was like, in the box. You were like, how did he get.
- [38:42]
David Beckham
This is.
- [38:43]
Host
Yeah, but your whole body looked in pain.
- [38:45]
David Beckham
Well, I jokingly said after that game, that was the moment where I realized I needed to stop playing football.
- [38:51]
Host
Right.
- [38:51]
David Beckham
When you come up against someone like Messi, it wasn't that particular game that made me think, okay, I'm done. I can't keep up with this level anymore. It was the fact that I knew my body was ready. And I think that, you know, I used to roll out of bed in the morning. I used to be in so much pain after games, and my recovery wasn't the same, in all honesty, I knew deep down that I was ready to stop playing football, as hard as it was to make that decision. And it was only two months before the end of the season that I. That I realized that that game, in.
- [39:29]
Host
Many ways, and what we just talked about really brings us quite nicely onto your memory. I'm really interested to hear this story. Tell us about the memory that you've chosen.
- [39:40]
David Beckham
The memory that I have chosen. And again, I could have picked many, but the memory that I have chosen is the phone call that I got When I was in bed in Japan, saying that Leo Messi was signing for.
- [39:55]
Host
Miami set the scene for me. Where are you? You're in Japan. What time is it?
- [40:00]
David Beckham
Okay. So we'd been talking to Leo's father for a long time.
- [40:04]
Host
How long?
- [40:04]
David Beckham
Five years.
- [40:05]
Host
No, five years. So even before the club had even.
- [40:08]
David Beckham
Existed, me and my partner in Miami sneaked into a hotel to meet Leo's dad. Five years prior to him signing for us.
- [40:18]
Host
Oh, my gosh.
- [40:19]
David Beckham
And we had a meeting with him. And I said, look, I know that Leo's not ready now, but I want your son to play for my club in the future. Doesn't matter what age he is, doesn't matter where he is in the world. We want Leo Messi playing for Inter Miami. I knew Leo and his wife Antonella, you know, loved Miami. I know that they'd spent time in Miami, but I wanted Leo as part of our club. So fast forward five years, we knew that month that there was a decision to be made because Leo had announced that he was leaving psg. He had offers from different clubs and different leagues around the world, obviously. But then about a week out from hearing that he was coming, someone from his side said, okay, Leo's gonna maybe announce in the next five, six days. So me and my partner at a time, you know, he turned around to me, said, I'm excited, I'm excited. I said, calm down.
- [41:25]
Host
Yeah.
- [41:25]
David Beckham
I said, this is the football world. Leo will decide when Leo decides he should do it his own way, the way he wants to do it. If he decides he wants to come to Miami. Unbelievable. If he decides, he's the only person that will decide this. So 4 or 5am In Japan, we're with the kids, the kids are in another room and I'm in bed and my phone keeps buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. And Victoria kind of elbows me and says, turn your phone off. We need to sleep. We're jet lagged. So I reach over, I'm like, put my glasses on. I then see Leo Messi has decided to come to Miami. And I get goosebumps. Now I sit up in my bed and I start crying. And Victoria's like, what's happened? What is wrong? Who's died? And I'm like, leo's coming. He's coming to Miami. And I go online and it's all across social media. And then I turn on Leo's interview and it's exactly how I wanted it to happen. Leo's way. He sat there in a hotel room with one camera and he says, I'm coming to Miami. And even then, even at that, I said, I couldn't believe it. I sat up, I got up, I said to Victoria, I'm not going back to sleep, just so you're aware. I can't believe it. And then I spoke to my partner, Jorge, and he said, can you believe it? Can you believe it? And I said, I can't. Let's just wait. Wait until he literally steps foot in Miami, and then I will believe it. So the funny thing is, I said, okay, Jorge, you and your wife, Alada have to go to the airport. Just be there for the moment that he gets off that plane, because it might be his brother. We might have signed his brother. I don't know. I said, this is Leo. It's Messi. It's the greatest player to ever have played our game. I could not believe it. So that is my. One of my greatest memories, the greatest memory that I have, the moment that I found out that Leo Messi was coming to Miami.
- [43:40]
Host
I mean, there's so many parallels between, you know, your decision to go to the mls, which is probably the last time, I think, the MLS created such a huge new story. And there's been great players have gone and played in the MLS there since Lattahan. You mentioned Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane, and great players have gone and played there. But in terms of a cultural impact, there must have been moments when you played for LA Galaxy where you thought, have I made the right decision in my career?
- [44:09]
David Beckham
I mean, there might have been moments where I was frustrated in LA because I'd gone from, obviously, one of the biggest and best leagues and teams in the world, Real Madrid, to playing for the LA Galaxy, which was a pretty new team and a new league. So there was moments where I was frustrated. There was never a moment where I thought I'd made the wrong decision because I knew what the challenges were going to be, I knew what the frustrations were going to be, but I knew ultimately that that was the right decision for me at that time.
- [44:40]
Host
And you also knew that it was going to lead you to this moment now, or the opportunity to potentially own a franchise.
- [44:48]
David Beckham
And my commitment always to the league and to the commissioner, Don Garber, was, I want to own a franchise in the future, and if you give me the opportunity to put this in my contract, I will be committed for a long time. I don't think they'll ever do that deal again, in all honesty, but they gave me the opportunity to buy a franchise.
- [45:07]
Host
Have they done that deal with Messi? Though, does he get to have a franchise?
- [45:10]
David Beckham
No.
- [45:10]
Host
Really?
- [45:11]
David Beckham
No. I don't think they'll ever do that again. I put in the contract that I was able to buy a franchise at half the price of what they were worth at the time and they agreed to it. It's an extreme, and I don't think they'll ever agree to that again. It's an amazing deal. But then I had the best six years personally and on the field in America that I could have had.
- [45:38]
Host
Let's move on to your final selection. We asked you to give us a place that's significant in your life. Tell us the place that you've chosen.
- [45:46]
David Beckham
The English countryside.
- [45:48]
Host
Tell me about it. What does it give you in your life?
- [45:51]
David Beckham
It's my happy place.
- [45:52]
Host
Try and describe to anyone who wouldn't know what the English countryside is like.
- [45:57]
David Beckham
Well, there's different versions, but where I live is a place where I can walk around with my dogs, can make my honey, can tend to my chickens, can have quiet moments with my kids and my wife and my family. It's the place where I'm happiest. And that's coming from an East End boy that grew up and really in.
- [46:22]
Host
A city and has lived in cities your entire life. The best cities in the world and.
- [46:26]
David Beckham
Has always lived in cities. But there's something about the countryside that I have always loved. You know, as a. As a young kid, like I said, I lived in Chingford, in Leytonstone, but I always loved when I was in Epping Forest riding my bmx. So I've always loved the countryside. And that is my happy place. That is the place where, you know, I go on a Friday morning, I leave the office early, I drive down, I spend a couple of hours pottering around, and then when Victoria and the kids come down at about 5 o' clock in the evening, I. Dinner's ready, fires are on, dogs are running around, and it's just a peaceful place for us. And I need that because I am so busy, I travel so much and I need a place where I can just sit and relax.
- [47:17]
Host
In this place where you are now in your life, this moment, which I do think is a moment, actually, in a life full of moments when you allow yourself to look back, is there anything that you change?
- [47:30]
David Beckham
No, not one thing. Even the tough moments, you know, even when I talk about 98 and sat there on my three medals from 99 when I won the treble, 98 was a really difficult year for me. But at the end of that 98, 99 season, I end up winning the treble with Manchester United and it becomes one of my greatest moments in my career.
- [47:54]
Host
Well, you bought these medals because you said you may have made a change from your gold cap tier. When was the last time? I mean, I've never seen an FA cup winners medal before. When was the last time you looked at these?
- [48:08]
David Beckham
These medals were taken out of the bank yesterday. I keep them in the bank.
- [48:13]
Host
Wow.
- [48:13]
David Beckham
So these medals came home yesterday morning and probably the last time I saw them was five years ago. And they did not look like this when they came home from the bank. When they came home from the bank, I almost didn't bring them in because they look so bad. So I got the Brasso out last night and a cloth and I was scrubbing these medals last night trying to get them looking like they did 25 years ago. But what you think about they are 25 years old.
- [48:45]
Host
I mean, to win a Premier League, a Champions League and an FA cup in one season is extraordinary. To do it with a group of mates that you won the youth team cup with is mind blowing. I'm going to ask you a difficult question now and I don't know if you'll be able to answer it, but I'd love to know what you think. How would you like to be remembered?
- [49:09]
David Beckham
I'd like to be remembered as just a hard working footballer. That's all I ever want in all honesty. That I gave everything every time that I stepped on a field. You know, I've been very fortunate to have won what I've won in my career and played for the clubs that I've played for and have what I have, you know, in my life with my family and my business. But all I want to be remembered for is a hard working footballer. That's the most important thing to me.
- [49:39]
Host
David Beckham, your piece of music is I am the Resurrection by the Stone Roses. Your sporting moment is your halfway line goal against Wimbledon. Your person is your wife, Victoria, your prized possession, your 100th gold cap for England. Your memory was the moment that you heard that Lionel Messi signed for Inter Miami. Your place is the English countryside. Thank you so much for sharing this incredible life of yours.
- [50:08]
David Beckham
You're welcome. Can I have two more songs?
- [50:10]
Host
Go on.
- [50:11]
David Beckham
So Spice Girls say you'll be there.
- [50:14]
Host
Okay.
- [50:15]
David Beckham
And my other song has to be Islands in the Stream. Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, we'll give you those. Thank you very much.
- [50:24]
Host
Next week is this.
- [50:29]
David Beckham
I'm Kim Kardashian. Welcome to this life of mine.
- [50:37]
Host
I pulled her aside and I said.
- [50:39]
David Beckham
Holy shit, we fucking made it. Like, I'm always like, hey guys, let's enjoy this ride. Because they might not care about us. Like, you know, like your 15 minutes are up. The possession is a letter from my dad. You are sensitive and loving. I love you more. I said I was not gonna cry. I love you more than my own life.
- [51:11]
Host
If you haven't subscribed to Lemonade Premium yet, now is the the perfect time. You can listen to this life of mine completely ad free. Plus you'll unlock exclusive quick fire rounds of questions with all of my guests. They're all in two minutes or less. Just tap that subscribe button on Apple Podcasts or head to lemonadepremium.com to subscribe on any other app. Or you can listen ad free on Amazon Music with your prime membership. That's lemonadepremium.com don't miss out.