A former Real Madrid star opened up on babysitting David Beckham while the England legend was isolated in Spain with Spice Girls star Victoria off travelling
At present, the Beckham clan finds itself deeply divided, after David and Victoria’s son Brooklyn dropped a shocking statement.
He outlined numerous grievances he holds against his family, even declaring he has no desire to mend fences with them. Yet 23 years back, the picture was entirely different. Father David had just completed his dream transfer to Real Madrid from Manchester United, a massive coup for the 28-year-old winger at the time.
Alongside Victoria, he was raising two little lads – Brooklyn and Romeo, aged just four and one respectively, reports the Mirror. The Beckham empire had begun its rise, destined to become one of showbiz’s most legendary couples and households.
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The England talisman faced enormous expectations to perform in Spain, and whilst he finally tasted success with a league title victory in the Spanish capital, he ultimately never quite reached the stratospheric levels anticipated, later departing for LA Galaxy in the States before temporary stints with AC Milan – though he remains fondly remembered.
Ex-Los Blancos player Michel Salgado was tasked with “babysitting” Beckham during his Madrid days and disclosed how Beckham ended up annoying his wife. “I was the one to babysit David Beckham,” Salgado revealed on the League of Legends show: “I did it a lot. It’s because I was the only one to speak English.
“But it was great with Beckham. He was alone in Madrid because his wife was travelling a lot, living in LA and England. So he would call me every day, saying ‘let’s go out’. And my wife was really p***** off with the situation – but it was a great time.”
Beckham wasn’t the only player that Salgado had the responsibility of looking after. Former Liverpool wing wizard Steve McManaman, who played for the club for four years, was also helped along the way by ex-Blackburn Rovers ace Salgado.
“I remember in my first day at Real Madrid pre-season,” continued Salgado. “At that time, we were sharing rooms – and they said ‘you’re sharing with the English guy, Steven McManaman’.
His initial reaction was disbelief: “So I was like ‘oh my god, why’. They said ‘because you’re the only one who speaks English’. But in the end, it was great. I was the one to babysit the English guys.”
But boredom in Madrid wasn’t Beckham’s only challenge. In his Netflix documentary ‘Beckham’, he discussed his relationship with manager Fabio Capello.
“He was like a tough, strict manager, which I loved. He made me nervous and I don’t get nervous,” Beckham revealed. He went on to describe a period when Capello started to bench him regularly: “He benched both of us [Ronaldo, too] It killed me. At that point I wasn’t sure of my future at Real Madrid.”
This uncertainty led to Beckham being linked with LA Galaxy. The England icon remembered: “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’. Obviously at that point I was very upset.”