David Beckham has revealed the teasing three-worded message that Zinedine Zidane told him after Manchester United’s Champions League match against Real Madrid at Old Trafford.
United legend Beckham has been the subject of a four-part documentary on Netflix, with his life both on the pitch and off it shared with fans all over the world.
Beckham opened up on his illustrious playing career at United, including his relationship with ‘father figure’ Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
The 48-year-old ex-winger’s international career was also spotlighted and fans had strong feelings on one controversial incident that happened in his England career.
Beckham, who retired from professional football in 2013, candidly spoke about France legend Zidane and his memorable experience of crossing paths with him on the pitch.
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Zidane’s message to United legend Beckham
Beckham would become teammates with Zidane in his career after the former England captain completed a blockbuster £24.5m move to Madrid in 2003.
But before they played together on the same team, Beckham came up against Zidane in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2003.
Madrid defeated United 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg before a sensational Ronaldo hat-trick sealed a 4-3 victory at Old Trafford in the return leg.
Speaking in the ‘Beckham’ Netflix documentary, the former United star has revealed that Zidane asked him when he was coming to Madrid in a post-match chat.
“Zidane came up to me. And he doesn’t speak so much English, Zizou,” Beckham said.
“He doesn’t really say too much — ever.
“He came up to me, shook hands, and went: ‘You come to Madrid?’ I was like, did Zizou just say that? I love that moment.”
Beckham’s time at Madrid
Beckham played for Madrid from 2003 to 2007 and the former England international made 159 appearances and scored 20 times and registered 52 assists for the club.
The former Madrid superstar, who lifted a La Liga title, revealed in his documentary that Fabio Capello was ruthless towards him due to LA Galaxy’s interest in him.
“On Monday morning, Capello called me into his office and said, ‘I heard you’re talking to other clubs, you will never play for Real Madrid again,’” Beckham said.
“Obviously at that point, I was very upset.”
Capello had two separate spells at Madrid as manager and his second run was from 2006 to 2007, which was at the tail end of Beckham’s time at Los Blancos.
Beckham revealed that the former Madrid head coach was a “tough” manager who dropped both him and Ronaldo from the starting XI.
“He was like a tough, strict manager, which I loved. He made me nervous and I don’t get nervous,” he said.
Beckham added: “He benched both of us [him and Ronaldo]. It killed me. At that point I wasn’t sure of my future at Real Madrid.”
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