‘It was powerful when David Beckham joined Real – I needed to babysit him in Spain’

Real Madrid legend Michel Salgado has opened up about his role in helping David Beckham adjust to life at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The England skipper made a bold move to join Real Madrid following a high-profile spat with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. In 2003, Beckham joined the ranks of the Galactico’s and seemed to be an ideal match for the star-studded team put together by club president Florentino Perez.

Despite his immediate success on the field, Beckham initially struggled to adapt to his new Spanish lifestyle. Real stalwart Salgado, who turns 49 on Tuesday (October 22), once shared how he was assigned to look after Beckham from day one at the club.

“For me, it was a tough moment because I had to babysit him a little bit,” Salgado confessed to TNT Sports. “Victoria [Beckham] was not there so I was the only guy speaking English.”

“He would call me every day, ‘Michel, let’s go for this, let’s go for that’. So it was a pretty good time. For me, it was good because I practised English. I did it with Macca [Steve McManaman] before and then I had Beckham so it was a good moment,” reports the Mirror.

Despite the team’s potential, they failed to deliver during Beckham’s stint in Spain, although they did secure the La Liga title in 2007. Beckham later moved to LA Galaxy before ending his career at PSG after two separate loan periods at AC Milan.

He now owns MLS team Inter Miami, which boasts Lionel Messi as one of its players. As for Salgado, the full-back was once dubbed the “hardest person in the world ” and “a genuine psychopath” by McManaman.

Salgado’s gritty playing style might stem from his deep-rooted love for English football. He picked up the lingo with help from his sister-in-law hailing from York and even did a stint in Margate as a teen exchange student.

So when Real Madrid let him go, he heeded the counsel of former teammates Ivan Campo and Fernando Hierro, landing at Blackburn Rovers under ex-Bolton boss Sam Allardyce.

During his three-year tenure at Ewood Park, Salgado vouched for Allardyce to take over the England squad after Fabio Capello in 2010. “Who is better for England than an English manager who understands the English mentality and knows everything about the English game? ” he queried.

“He did a great job with Bolton. He is doing a great job with Blackburn Rovers. You know the talent of the manager when he has a small batch of players and you are a competitive team. The job he’s done over the last few years has been magnificent. He is one of the reasons I came here to England.”