London - David Beckham’s one lingering regret from his glittering career is that he never got the chance to play for Manchester United again after being shown the door by Sir Alex Ferguson 12 years ago.
He and Ferguson will be reunited on Saturday when Old Trafford becomes the Theatre of Dreams once again and welcomes Paul Scholes, Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane for a charity match that completes Beckham’s mission of playing in seven continents for Unicef.
But Beckham (below), as passionate as ever about United, urged Cristiano Ronaldo to return to the North West if given the chance.
‘I’d have crawled back if I could but I never had the opportunity,’ admits Beckham, who went on to play for Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy, Paris St-Germain and AC Milan.
‘I’d never advise any player to not return to Man United. If he (Ronaldo) decides to leave Real Madrid, then for me personally, the only place that he should come is back to United.’
Ronaldo, who was close to rejoining United in 2014 before signing a new contract with Real, has been dropping mixed messages about his future. United would break the bank for one of their greatest ever players, who would lift those United fans who seem bored by Louis van Gaal’s methods. Although not going as far as Class of 92 colleagues Gary Neville and Scholes, Beckham admits entertainment is in the club’s DNA. ‘It’s not just about winning trophies here, the style definitely matters. It’s embedded into this club,’ he says.
‘When you support this club, you always want to see the club win trophies and play the game in a certain way. But there’s so many things that have changed over the last five years - the boss (Ferguson) leaving, Giggsy finishing, Keany finishing, myself, Scholesy, Butty, the Nevs.’
Beckham is certain to receive an adoring welcome at Old Trafford, where he last played in Gary Neville’s testimonial in 2011. He flew in from Miami on Thursday night for the Match for Children between his Great Britain & Ireland team and an international side managed by Carlo Ancelotti.
It has been a whirlwind nine days for Beckham, who has played in Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Djibouti, Buenos Aires, Antarctica and Miami.
‘It been a hell of a journey; a different preparation to what I’m used to. I am just hoping the boss doesn’t bench me,’ he says.
‘The game in Antarctica was incredible. We didn’t think the game would happen because of the weather, but then we were having dinner in Buenos Aires and they said it could happen if we left in two hours.
‘We finished dinner, went to Punta Arenas in Chile and flew over on an old 1971 Russian military plane. We had the right-sized pitch and a referee for a seven-a-side game. Some scientists based over there played. It was the first football game in Antarctica since 1911. As soon as it finished, the pilot came on the radio and said we had to get out of there because the weather was changing again.
‘To see how the money is helping is incredible,’ he adds, aware that sport needs a boost after the FIFA and IAAF scandals.
‘There are so many positives about our game and there is so much great stuff football does around the world.
‘I went to Nepal, where there was the devastation of the earthquake six months ago, and we are playing in the middle of these temples where children have obviously lost family members and have lost their homes.
‘Once the game started, they were running around with smiles on their faces. In Djibouti, we drove four hours into the middle of nowhere. A refugee camp with 15 000 people and these kids, some of them are very talented, were slipping notes into my pockets as I got into the car at the end.’
Beckham won 115 England caps, a record for an outfield player, won league titles in four countries and became the most famous sportsman in the world.
His latest odyssey will end at Old Trafford in front of 75,000 people.
‘Wembley was talked about but it was my dream to play here again,’ he added.
Ronaldo, take note.
Daily Mail