David Beckham’s life journey is an unmissable one. Here are 5 facts about the football superstar you might not have known unveiled in the Netflix, Docu-Series, Beckham.
Netflix’s docu-series Beckham puts a focus on the celebrated football star, David Beckham. It gives us a peek into never-before-seen footage, following his meteoric rise from humble beginnings to global football stardom. Coupled with an intimate insight into their marriage and early romance, family life and his illustrious football career. David Beckham‘s Netflix documentary has amassed a record breaking 3.8 million viewers during its premiere week.
It just released this month and is a flashy four part documentary series about one of the most famous footballers and sports superstar of all time. David Beckham now 48, charts his journey in the docu-series from belonging to a working-class family in south London to a young star at Manchester United, captain of the England football squad and being married to Spice Girl member, Victoria Adams becoming the most famous couple in contemporary pop culture. Alongside him, we see his wife of 24 years, Victoria Beckham, who has supported him from the sidelines since the time they have been together. Audiences are treated to many interviews with his tight-knit family and a starry lineup of teammates, celebrity friends and even some of the paparazzi who built careers on chasing the Beckhams’ every move.
In the U.K, there’s a strong sense of nostalgia and affection for the couple, perhaps tinged with a bit of remorse for how celebrities were often mistreated in the 1990s and 2010s. Particularly how he faced public cruelty for months for his send-off based on a red card in the 1998 World Cup match with Argentina which costed England, a penalty. Many blamed, vilified Beckham for the loss and publically humiliated him. Beckham says the moment “changed his life” and that he struggled to eat and sleep following the incident, leaving him clinically depressed. But Victoria shares, he just kept going and as Beckham admitted: “I don’t give up easy”
It features interviews of his former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, his parents Ted and Sandra Beckham and his former teammate Rio Ferdinand. We will also hear from Gary Neville, Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Mel C (aka Sporty Spice), Diego Simeone, Carlos Queiroz, Luís Figo, Míchel Salgado, Florentino Pérez, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo Nazário and Fabio Capello.
1. Beckham’s Passion For Football Was Almost An Obsession
David Beckham is still in tune with his humble beginnings. His father Ted Beckham who pushed him to play as well as he could, worked seven days a week as a gas engineer. His mother Sandra was a hairdresser who worked from her home. Beckham remembers, growing up he used to help his mother while she worked by preparing snacks and tea for her clients. He was always inspired by his parent’s hard work.
“I saw my mom and dad working hard everyday until 11:00 at night, 12:00 at night, I knew the only way to be a professional footballer was to work hard,” said Beckham in the docuseries.”
Beckham’s passion for soccer was almost an obsession. During his childhood, he placed soccer above almost everything else, even at the expense of having a social life, which, it seems, he never really had. He revealed in the docu-series: “I never really did well at school. I wasn’t intelligent, believe it or not,” Beckham said. “I never had many friends. I kept myself to myself and the moment I got home from school to the moment I slept, I spent my time out in the garden”
2. He Decided He Would Marry Posh The First Time He Saw Her
It was only ever Victoria Beckham for him, or more famously known as the Posh Spice. Becks revealed in the docu-series that he saw Posh for the first time while watching TV with his teammate Gary Neville and right there and then he declared, she’s the one he would marry! What a magnificent love story…
“‘See that one there? I’m going to marry that one.’ And we were laughing and joking, and I’m like, ‘No, I’m going to marry that one — the posh one, in the black dress,’” Beckham recalls in his docu-series. They both met at one of Beckham’s games for the first time and immediately “fancied” each other. His mate, Neville shared when their relationship started off, Beckham “was like an addict,” “He would drive four hours to spend 20 minutes with her.” “The truth is he was on the phone with Victoria every second and he would stay on the phone until 1 in the morning. He was in the bathroom with the light on all night speaking to her“
“I didn’t care when I saw her, how much I saw her, if it was me driving down to London to see her for seven minutes, I did it,” Beckham shared.
3. He Is Rather Prim & Proper & Loves Cleaning His Home
He has not just been a superstar footballer but is also a prim and proper bloke. He likes to have a meticulously clean, organized house and closet. Previously in interviews prior to the docu-series Beckham revealed he struggles with O.C.D. The documentary also shows his O.C.D. tendencies through his compulsive neatness in the kitchen, for one.
He arranges his closet rather specifically with perfectly pressed, folded and hung pieces at an angle to help him see all his clothes at once. He even lines up and plans his outfits for the entire week on a rail in his “dressing suite” He said he even trims the candle wicks and cleans smoke stains from the glass containers, saying he hates coming down in the morning to an untidy house.
“When everyone is in bed, I go around the house, clean the kitchen, used candles, turn on the switches so they are properly aligned and make sure everything is tidy,” he explains. Victoria sure is a lucky wife!
4. An Alleged Affair He Never Confirmed & How The Couple Bounced Back
So in 2003, the Beckhams suffered a major crisis in their globally revelled relationship and there was trouble in paradise. Beckham at that time was in Spain, playing for Real Madrid when claims and allegations had surfaced about his alleged affair with his personal assistant from his PR company, Rebecca Loos. Beckham has till date never confirmed and has always dismissed those rumours and it is only for the first time that both him and Victoria Beckham spoke about the aftermath of the claims of the alleged affair in the docu-series.
The Spice Girl in one of the interviews in the Netflix show, broke down in tears, claiming it was the “hardest” time of her life. While David admitted how he still doesn’t know how they got through the crisis, how they both were drowning but he and Victoria knew they had to “fight for their family’. The former England captain also said he ‘felt physically sick every day’ as he and Victoria faced a battle to save their marriage.
5. His First Brand Campaign & What He Spent The Paycheck On
He simply admitted he likes the nicer things in life! He would buy and want the best watches, cars and designer jackets. He recalled being one of the first soccer players ever to sign a contract with the brand, Adidas back in the 90’s for £50,000 and says he went out right after and bought an [BMW] M3 for £50,000.
“David used to get his salary on a Friday, spend it on a Saturday, and then spend the next five days waiting for his next salary to get the jeans to match,” says his former Manchester United teammate Phil Neville.
Have you caught the docu-series ‘Beckham’ on Netflix as yet? It sure is a great watch, having brilliantly covered global phenomenon David Beckham’s journey of being a football and sports superstar with a peek into Victoria and David Beckham’s iconic fashion looks from the 90’s.
Here is the trailer for the Netflix Documentary Series, ‘BECKHAM’
