Beckham hates leaving family

Associated Press

A file photo of David Beckham.

London - David Beckham "hates" being away from his children.

The soccer star - who has kids Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, Cruz, eight, and 19-month-old Harper with wife Victoria - can't stand the huge distance between himself and his family while he is away playing in matches and remembers how "tough" it was when he played for Italian team A.C. Milan for six months in 2009.

David - who is currently living in France and playing for Paris Saint-Germain while his family lives in London - told the new UK issue of OK! magazine: "The biggest thing is my family. We don't like moving around, we don't like unsettling the kids.

"As a family, as a father, [Milan] was the toughest time since I have had my boys. They came out to see me every eight weeks for a week, but I hate even being away from them for an hour, let alone that amount of time."

Although David and Victoria, 38, are multi-millionaires and very successful in their respective careers, the 37-year-old sportsman ensures he instils values of hard work and ambition into his kids because he wants them to make their own way in the world like their parents.

He said: "It would be easy for our kids to sit back and not work for anything, but they're not like that. They're as competitive as Victoria and me.

"We're very lucky with our boys - they want to win. They want to work at something. They know their values. That's the way we've brought them up so far, and that's the way we'll continue to bring them up."

While his sons are already taking after their father, David is still in awe of having a daughter and loves watching her interact with his boys.

He added: "She's so beautiful. There's no more love for a daughter than there is a son, but it's just different.

"I still think, oh God, I can't believe this, I've got a girl. And to see the boys with her, it's incredible. When they walk into the room, her little face lights up." - Bang Showbiz