David Beckham Admits He Wasn't Meant to Sign For Real Madrid
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Back in the summer of 2003, Real Madrid made another 'Galactico signing' when they confirmed the arrival of David Beckham from Manchester United, after he had fallen out with then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
He joined other Galactico players at the club, such as Luis Figo, Raul, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo Nazario. There was an anticipation of the success this level of squad could bring to the club.
Things didn't quite work out as expected. It would be too far to call the Englishman a flop, certainly not. But it wasn't quite as anticipated either. During Beckham's four years at the club, no Champions Leagues were won, with just one Supercopa de España at the beginning of his tenure, and a La Liga title right at the end.
Ups and down for David Beckham in Madrid
Back in January of 2007, 'Becks' had agreed a deal to join LA Galaxy at the end of the 2006/07 season. As a result, Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello said he would no longer play him. However, one month later, the Italian backtracked on that. On his return from exile, Beckham scored a free-kick in a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.
From there, he continued to play a role until the end of the season. On the final day of the La Liga season, the then 32-year-old was forced off with an injury with Los Blancos 1-0 down at home to Mallorca. His replacement, Jose Reyes, scored twice in an eventual 3-1 win, as Real won the league over Barcelona on the head-to-head tiebreaker. This was his final game for the club.
So, although it was not perfect for Beckham in the Spanish capital, his time did start and end in silverware, and he certainly played his part in the La Liga title with some crucial goals in tight games.
Beckham close to joining Real Madrid's rivals
However, things could have ended up very differently. Indeed, the 50-year-old has recently explained how he wasn't actually meant to sign for Los Blancos. Speaking on CBS Sports"My team in Spain was always Real Madrid, " he said. "Funnily enough, I got sold from Manchester United to Barcelona."
"I was on holiday, Peter Kenyon [United CEO] phoned me, and he said, 'We've accepted a bid from Barcelona, and we're selling you.' I said - if you are going to sell me - the only team I want to move to is Real Madrid, because I always had a dream of playing for Real Madrid when I was a young kid."
"I never thought I would leave Manchester United, but if I did, you know, I'd have loved to have played for Real Madrid, and if they wanted me to leave, the only club I wanted to go to was Real Madrid. So they [United] had to backpedal, funnily enough; in a day and a half, it [the move to Real Madrid] happened."
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Tom Vinall is a sports writer covering Real Madrid On SI. Previously, he had worked at FanSided as both a contributor and site expert, covering the likes of Spurs and Bayern Munich. He has also previously written for Transfer News Live. Tom was born and lives in Bristol, South West England, and loves to listen to music as well as learning Spanish.
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