David Beckham has disclosed that during their well-known confrontation in 2003, he had to be restrained from approaching Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary Scottish manager, after Ferguson angrily kicked a boot in his direction.
Tensions had escalated between the two following Manchester United’s loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round during the 2002-03 season. In the aftermath, Ferguson led a thorough review in the dressing room.
Beckham vividly recalled the moment he encountered his irate boss, stating that he had used strong language and swore at Ferguson, which only exacerbated the situation after the manager criticized him for failing to mark his opponent in the lead-up to a goal.
In response to Beckham’s confrontation, Ferguson impulsively launched a boot in Beckham’s direction, resulting in the midfielder sporting an eye injury during training.
Beckham shared his perspective, saying, “We walked in the changing room and the boss is fuming. I can see it by his face.”
“And when you see the boss’s face like this, you don’t want to be anywhere near him. It is a face that no one can do, trust me.”
Regarding the incident where Ferguson was reportedly using strong language, Beckham added, “I went back at the boss and said “no” and then I swore. I said the f- word. And then I saw him change, and I was like, “s***, I really shouldn’t have said that”. I think I said the f-word too many times.”
Beckham further revealed that he was so incensed by the boot being hurled at him that he attempted to approach Ferguson, but someone had to intervene and hold him back.
Former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer later acknowledged that it was his boot that had been launched at Beckham.
He also shared additional details about Ferguson’s displeasure with Beckham’s performance, saying, “When you lose you take your boots off and wait for the gaffer to talk and he starts effing and blinding at David. Look at the video, David says. [Sir Alex says] I don’t need a f***ing video, I’ve got my eyes. I could then just see my boot flying.”
Beckham went on to express his deep disappointment at having to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid in the subsequent season, revealing that he had pleaded to stay at Old Trafford. He recalled asking, “Can I speak to the boss?” only to be informed, “No, he doesn’t want to talk to you”. Beckham added, “And I said, “I need to speak to the boss, I need to know this is really what he wants” and I pleaded to not go. I couldn’t get in contact with the boss. Did I ever want to leave Man United? No, never.”
Manchester United performance and stats
Manchester United
Manchester United is currently 10th in the Premier League with 9 points.
In the last 7 games, it has won 3 times and lost 4 times. In its last match, Manchester United lost 0-1 against Crystal Palace.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 7 goals and conceding 11.
Manchester United will play the next match in Premier League against Brentford on Saturday 7th of October in Manchester. The prediction is Manchester United winning the match.
