David Beckham admits lunging at Sir Alex Ferguson after Manchester Utd boss kicked boot at him in rage
20 September 2023, 12:34 | Updated: 5 October 2023, 10:13
David Beckham has admitted he lunged for Sir Alex Ferguson after the Man Utd boss infamously kicked a boot at him.
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The ex-England captain revealed his fury after the incident in the changing room after the Red Devils lost an FA Cup game to Arsenal in 2003.
Speaking in a new four-part Netflix series, Beckham recalled the incident that led to speculation as to whether one of the world's most famous players had fallen out with the most successful manager so badly they would struggle to reconcile.
The midfielder was pictured shortly after with stitches to a cut above his eye.
He said Ferguson had tried to kick a pile of clothes but a boot flew out and struck him on the face.
Beckham said "I went like that" as he showed how he put his hand up to his face and noticed he was bleeding, then got out of his seat and said "and then like that" to show him lunging at his former boss.
The ex-Real Madrid player discussed the boot kicking incident in the 2021 book Fergie: Under the Hairdryer.
"That was blown up out of all proportion. I'd made a couple of mistakes during the game and he came into the dressing room and a few harsh words were exchanged," he said.
"He started to walk over to me and he kicked out at a pile of clothes on the floor. Out came this boot and then I quickly realised how accurate his kick had been as it struck me on the head, but there weren't any hard feelings.
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"It was a complete freak accident. As far as we were concerned. it was forgotten straight away within the club, but the incident made the papers which meant that people started to speculate about our relationship.
"But as far as the boss and I were concerned it was over, done and dusted."
A trailer for the new series, Beckham, was released on Monday. It will launch on October 4.
It will explore his playing career and relationship with Victoria Beckham, who admits in the trailer how the two used to meet in car parks to keep their relationship a secret.
"That's not as seedy as it sounds," she said.
