David Beckham says his father 'only told him he was proud of him after he played 100 times for England'
24 March 2024, 10:07
David Beckham has claimed his father only told him he was proud of him after he had gained 100 caps for the England team.
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Former Three Lions captain Beckham said his father Ted told him "you've made it boy" on reaching his century of appearances.
Beckham said that his ambition in football and in business came from a desire to impress his father.
He said: "My dad never told me I’d done well really until my hundredth cap.
"That was the first time my dad turned around to me and said, ‘you’ve made it boy’.
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That came despite Beckham already having won multiple Premier League and FA Cup titles, as well as the Champions League, with Manchester United.
“It was the moment that we sat at dinner after I’d won my hundredth cap in Paris and he put his arm around me, and said, ‘you made it, boy'," he told James Corden.
Beckham said that his hard-working parents gave him and his sister a loving childhood, but that his father always wanted him to do more as a footballer growing up.
He said: "He very rarely turned around to me and said, ‘well done, boy. You did well today, you played well’”.
But he said that this upbringing had given him the necessary toughness to become a top-level professional footballer.
“Stepping out onto that stadium in front of our fans, whether they loved me or hated me, I loved every minute of every game that I played in,” he said.
Beckham said that he and his wife Victoria are much more lenient with their own children, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.
He also said that his relationship with Victoria had got stronger over the years, adding: "We actually like each other".
