David Beckham talks on Lionel Messi's Dedication Behind the Scenes | Football, Ferguson and Fashion

Welcome to another special episode of Rio Meats.

I'm Rio Ferdinand and this is the only place that you'll hear the biggest names, and I said the biggest, and I mean that, speaking about their lives, their careers, in a way that you've never, ever heard them speak before.

So guys, we went big with the first one, Cristiano Ronaldo.

So I had to follow it up with someone who's going to sit around him.

And I had to go for another Man United, number seven, the icon, Mr. David Beckham.

After you enjoyed this one, make sure you go and find the chat that I had before with Cristiano Ronaldo.

But today I'm really looking forward to catching up with one of my old teammates, a guy I've shared many a changing rooms with, a guy that was meticulous.

He was an unreal professional, worked harder than most, but the right foot, man.

I need to find out.

Who is David Beckham today in the game?

Who does he see when he watches the game and goes, you know what, that might be a bit of me.

The pressure is having your own boot.

Imagine getting your own boot named after you almost.

He owned the Predator for years.

It was him.

That's pressure, mate.

I don't want to own in a football club.

When did he even think about that?

So there you sit.

There's loads to get into him.

Let's start the episode right now.

I got here on a line bike.

Really?

I got on a bike and just rode it.

Seriously.

With a hat?

No, straight through.

No one bother you?

No, I don't stop.

It's like the cab drivers, there's everyone that lets you in.

It's brilliant.

It is good.

Cruz the other day, he had five mates around his house, and I wake up in the morning and there's like five line bikes all out lying on the floor outside the house.

I'm like, I'm sure that's not where you're meant to be.

Bit of respect.

Bit of respect, isn't it?

So we were just talking here as you come in, Dave, and you're obviously a very busy guy.

Do you get to watch much football anymore?

Because I think a lot of people think, does he watch games other than into Miami?

No, I actually do.

I actually do, because obviously I've got a lot of boys in the house that also are supporters of either United or Romeo's, obviously Arsenal.

How have you allowed that to happen, man?

My kids are all main- It's a long story.

It's a long story.

He was really young and we were in London one Friday and he was like, Dad, let's go to a game this weekend.

So I started to look at the fixtures and I was like, Arsenal are at home.

So I thought, do you know what?

They're always really nice to me when I go down to watch United and Arsenal.

And I thought, okay, they'll look after us.

There won't be any hassle getting in.

No hassle sat there.

So we walked in, amazing seats, sat in the director's box.

Lunch was unbelievable before the game.

It was like Wagyu, full on, everything.

So we walk in, I'm sat there and then Arsene walks in the room and he comes straight up to the table, introduces himself to Romeo and he says, come with me, son.

So he takes him down to the changing room, meets all the players, gives him a shirt signed, takes him onto the pitch, walks in back up to the table and then gives him an Arsenal cashmere scarf.

And that was it.

It was done.

I mean, I've tried to change his mind since, but impossible.

So, so yeah, I do watch, I watch a lot of games.

I'm always watching United, obviously.

Whenever, whenever there's Premier League games on, I always watch them.

The missus,

is your missus like mine?

Does she get the amps on time?

Victoria just doesn't like the sound of football.

Oh my God, my missus is exactly the same.

She doesn't like the sound.

Mute it.

I think it takes her back years, years ago, but I, I don't know.

She, I mean, she knows, she knows that I love watching the games.

I still watch match of the day every, every Saturday night.

So, yeah.

She probably don't want to hear Roy and Gary's voices, does she?

That she's heard them for long enough.

Well,

yeah, I think that's part of the problem.

So, when you're watching these games.

She loves Keeney.

She loves Gaz as well.

She loves Gaz.

Yeah?

She loves that.

Love hate.

Love hate.

Yeah, she loves them.

She loves them.

But talking about watching the games, number seven is obviously synonymous with your name and the likes of, you look at yourself, you look at Cantona, Figo, Raul, people like that.

What about the ones today?

Is a number seven shirt doing it like it was back in the day?

The Sackers.

I mean, you look at Bakaya.

I love, I love him as a player.

You know, I love him as a person, firstly, but I love him as a player.

And everything that he represents as a footballer, not just on the field, but off the field as well, you know, he's trying to make a difference in many different areas.

But you know that he's focused on his play as well.

And that's, that's what I love about him.

So I think he's, you know, he's a great number seven, but obviously I've been so lucky over my career.

You know, obviously when I was at United, I wore number seven for a long time.

And I was lucky that I followed in the footsteps of people that I had looked up to, my heroes, you know, someone like, you know, George Best, you know, someone like that.

And then you look at, you know, Eric and Brian Robson, Brian Robson was a hero of mine.

So, you know, to follow in their footsteps was always a dream of mine.

And then obviously to wear it for England, you know, I never obviously got to wear it when I moved to Real Madrid, but I never wanted it at Real Madrid purely because it's Raul.

You know, no one takes that number seven off of Raul.

And I wasn't even going to attempt that.

But the number seven shirt has always, has always been special to me.

Talking of number sevens and Real Madrid and Man United, Ronaldo.

You know, he's had a, he's had an unbelievable career, you know, every team that he's played for, you know, he's, you know, created a legacy for himself.

So, you know, I think he's, he's been incredible and he's played for the amount of time that he's played for.

So he's had an unbelievable career, you know, firstly, obviously with, with United and then obviously going to Real Madrid and, and obviously, you know, his, his, his career with Portugal as well.

So, you know, it's, it's an incredible career to look back on for him.

It's crazy because we used to hammer him about the seven shirt because obviously he took it and he obviously knew the history of you before.

And we used to go like the real number sevens, Bex, you know what I mean?

Come on, when he was having a bad time and he used to flip, flip out.

So you kind of inspired him without even knowing at times.

And if we fast forward to today, you watch all the games and watch loads of players.

Where would you play in today's game?

Do you think?

Because I have this discussion with my mates all the time.

Formations have changed a little bit.

Where would you see yourself in today's game?

I've always seen myself on the right or in the middle.

You know, I've always loved the 4-4-2, simple as that.

Because that's the way we always played and it's the way that really, you know, we had so much success.

I know the game's changed and, you know, I think that managers like Pep, I think, you know, he's created these systems and these players where, you know, you don't have a traditional right winger, but then all of a sudden he creates a system where actually it goes back to the old school time.

But, you know, I always see myself as a winger.

You know, I can never see myself as any other position, to be honest.

And I always say, I play here and this is a player here.

But is there a player in today's game that you go, that probably would be how I would be?

A lot of similarities.

I don't know.

I suppose the game has changed so much, you know, you know, I'm one of these ex-players that actually sits there and like, just get it out to the wing and put it in.

You know, that's really what I sometimes I'm shouting at the TV for.

Because sometimes you watch games and it's screaming for that kind of thing where you just want, you know, the boss used to turn around to me and say, sit on that line, sit on that line.

And eventually the ball will come and take one touch.

You know, I'm not one of these players and I was never one of these players to run at players and take them on like, like Bakaya and like there's other players out there.

I suppose if there was one player where I look at and I think, you know, he's very similar in the way he delivers the ball, he's very similar in the way he crosses the ball or passes, it has to be Trent.

I had Kevin De Bruyne, man.

Well, it is good though.

I see it with Trent, but I always think you'd play like the Kevin De Bruyne roster.

I'd love to play like Kevin.

I'd love to play.

No, in all honesty, I think he's an unbelievable, you know, his vision is unbelievable.

And he's an exceptional player.

But when I look at a player and I think, I see myself in the way he puts the ball in, in what he sees, in the long balls that he plays, you know, he plays balls that some players don't even think about.

And that's what I love about him as a player.

It's much more fashionable to be a fullback now as well.

And you look at it, it weren't the thing to do.

Like there weren't many people wanting to be Gary Neville.

There weren't many Gary Neville's.

There weren't many Gary Neville's out there.

I always call you, he said he was mustard in your film.

He did, he did.

But I thought he was more of a backup dancer for you.

Well, you know, Gaz created the space for me.

You know,

that was unselfish runs.

And he made a career out of it because we played together for so many years that he, he made those runs over and over again.

And every now and again, one out of 10, I'd give him a ball, but it was very rare.

How important is it to have a partnership like that on the pitch?

Because I look at partnerships, everyone thinks like, I don't know, Colin, York or,

Bergkamp and Thierry, et cetera.

But I put your one with, with Gary up there as one of the most like important for a team.

It was important for us.

And I think I'd like to think it was important for United and important for England as well, you know, because we had such a great understanding, you know, that he knew that if I hadn't run back, which was very rare, I knew that he would be there covering me and vice versa.

You know, I think that that was why Gary, you know, understood that even though 99% of the time when he made those runs, he was never going to get the ball.

He knew that it was helping the team and helping me.

So, you know, it worked both ways.

Did you,

did you do it?

What was it you done for him?

Cause he always talks about what he'd done for you and he's quite like, he puts himself down a little bit.

Um, well, I think I made him famous with making him my best man.

Apart from that, no, I'm only joking.

Um, no, I think that we were just a great partnership.

I think that obviously me being an East End boy moving to Manchester, you know, I needed solid friends, you know, I needed solid friends and solid teammates.

And he was that person, you know, he was so, he really set the bar of professionalism, you know, and hard work.

And I was lucky that I was like that.

You know, I wanted to have that hard work.

I wanted to have that professionalism, but I suppose it's easy to stray away from that.

Um, whereas with Gary, because he was one of my closest friends, because I, I knew what I had to do to be a professional at United and stay at United.

I knew I had to follow someone like that.

He must've pissed you off sometimes.

Um...

Because he does talk so much, doesn't he?

Yeah, but he's always talked so much.

He's always talked so much.

And now he's doing it every day on TV and everyone's seeing it.

doesn't he?

But, do you know what?

He's, he's been unbelievable.

For, for, you know, he always talks about it.

For a player that, you know, was a United fan through and through, annoyed most other teams that, you know, every time they played against him.

Um, but the fact that he is now loved by the whole country and, and for what he does is, he's brilliant.

I think it was, I used to love it and I don't know if you did, but you wouldn't have at the time, but I used to love it when I used to see his argue sometimes on the pitch.

Yeah.

Because it was almost like you need to, in a great teams, you need people.

You need that.

You need to, that's what you, you need someone in your team that's going to pull you and not just say, Oh, Oh, by the way, you miss your runner.

Maybe next time watch him.

You need people like that.

You were like that.

Keeney was like that.

Gaz was like that, you know, but we, it wasn't just him.

We had so many people and players in our, in our team that if you messed up, you, you're going to, you're going to get it.

You're going to get told.

And if you don't get told by the players, you get told by the manager.

And, and that's really why we had such a good relationship on and off the field, because we could be honest with each other, you know, and Gaz was always there for me, you know, through, through difficult times and, and vice versa.

It's crazy.

Cause I was doing my other podcast with Owen Hargreaves the other day, Rio presents on the channel.

And he spoke about coming to Maine United and realizing there's 25 shots.

There's a lot of sharks in the dressing room and they're all feeding.

They're all want to be, but again, I said to that, yes, there are, but you do need that overarching figure.

Yeah.

To make sure that they cultivate a good working environment.

I think, I think we were lucky though.

I think when, because, you know, I suppose saying sharks is, is, I wouldn't say it's the wrong word, but I will just say that, you know, we came into a United team and a United and a club that were hungry for success.

You know, you didn't have players out doing other players just to get in the team.

You know, you'd have players, we had a team, we had a real team of players that were supporting each other that were, that we were a team.

Simple as that.

Yeah.

And that's what I realized when I first walked in.

And obviously I knew you and the England boys, Gaz and Scalzi and that and Buddy before, but that's what I, when I walked in, the first thing I thought is like the togetherness here.

Where does that come from?

How does that, you were there before me.

It comes from the top.

It comes from the manager.

It comes from the manager.

It comes from the, it comes from the captain.

But we were lucky.

Yeah, we had, you know, when I first moved to United, you know, you had players like Brian Robson as captain.

You had Steve Bruce, you know, you had, you had, you had Incy, you had Keeney, you know, all of these strong characters, but actually there was a lot more captains in the team than you realized.

And that's really, it all comes from the manager.

You know, the manager, and I think he's such an important aspect of anything that happened to Maynard, but I look at all the players that were under him and they all always talk about the influence that he had.

What were the influences that he, that rubbed off on you from the manager?

I always looked at the boss as a father figure.

You know, I was obviously, I moved up from, from East London when I was 15 years old.

And he was, even though he was Manchester United's manager, it was like, it was like, it was like my dad.

And the kind of relationship that we had was incredible because he knew when exactly to put his arm around you, but he also knew what player could, you know, take a little bit of a, a stronger word or, you know,

or,

or needed a little bit less, you know, and I think that that's why we had the success at Manchester United that we had.

It's why the players wanted to play for him.

And, and, and really, you know, out my, my relationship with, with the manager, people always talk about, you know, the difficult times.

We, we didn't have many difficult times, you know, but I think that, you know, the manager understood me and I understood what the manager wanted, but we all, we all respected the manager so much.

Um, but he was always there for us no matter what.

It's funny because I remember the time when people asked me about you and about forget being a player, but it was more like, what was it?

I said, you know what, you're stubborn.

The manager or me?

Both of you are.

But you know,

I remember the time when you, remember, remember you had, I think you had a bob of that on.

And you,

I don't know, I don't know what you're talking about.

And I was saying, when I say it to my mate,

it was a cap actually.

I would have took it off.

It was a cap.

You said no.

I don't know what had happened.

Something must have happened at some point for me to have not taken it off.

Um, an argument in training the day before or something.

I don't know.

I don't know.

Because, because I can't believe I didn't take it off.

Um, but the manager just kind of went, okay.

But I was like,

I was thinking that something's going to happen behind the scenes.

I was like, there's no way I'm playing tomorrow.

But you know, I look at the change room.

I think it's always good to be in the change room.

I have different characters, probably like business.

There's different people, different characters in the change room.

And I think when you look back at the squad that I came into, the later parts of your time at May United, because we had one year together, didn't we?

And I was so surprised that like, you look at Roy now as the pundit, this like straight down the, down the barrel at you.

But he was a funny guy, man.

He was fun.

But, but I think that comes across, you know, that comes across in what he's doing now.

Keeney was always that person.

Could you imagine him being a pundit at that time?

There's no way.

He used to mute the TV, remember?

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I couldn't see him being a pundit back then.

But I think, you know, I think he's unbelievable.

Yeah.

I think he's unbelievable.

I think players love him, fans love him, managers love him.

You know, he's honest.

And I think that that's what people want to hear.

And just the last thing about what me and my mates talk about, because I think it's always good to do that, because me and my mates have loads of conversations about players, but you come up a lot.

And I always say, and I've done a pete on this on the podcast before, is that I think sometimes,

because you're such a big kind of character, big personality, you've got a huge kind of following and whatnot, sometimes your football gets come as secondary.

And how do you, do you think that?

And if you do, what does that make you feel sometimes?

Because I know how passionate you are about your game.

I can't lie, it does hurt a little bit,

you know, because over the years, it's probably been talked about, more than often,

you know, about obviously that side of things for me.

But I suppose it was always going to be, you know, mentioned at some point, because obviously, you know, I had to obviously the career that I had had, but then I had something outside of my football as well, that, you know, it wasn't as important as the football, but now, it's what I do, you know, so I knew that at some point when I finished playing, I was going to move into the business side of things, and the things that I did, you know, during my career would help that side of my business, and it has, so I'm very lucky, but obviously,

I'd rather people turn around and say that he was a great player, you know, or a great person, or, you know, won what I'd won, but I think people are still starting to talk more like that.

I think, I think the documentary that I did, obviously, recently, I think, reminded people maybe of, of the, the player that I,

that you were the shit,

you were the guy.

I, I wouldn't say that, but,

you know, I suppose what I'd won, and, and, and how I won it, and the decisions that I made, I think that the documentary helped that.

Talking about decisions that you made, obviously, you left Man United and went to Real Madrid,

and I'm looking at players like Drew Burnham and Kylian Mbappe, now, who are going into there, and what they're walking into.

How difficult is that challenge, going to a club like Real Madrid?

Yeah, players like, you know, Jude, moving to Real Madrid at such a young age, doing what he's done in his first season,

is exceptional.

But, he's, he's very, I think the decisions that Jude has made over the years, you know, from, obviously, going from Birmingham to, you know, to obviously Dortmund, you know, for a player that is so young to make those decisions, to take those kind of challenges on, you know, says something about him as a, as a person, and also the people that he has around him, because to take on those challenges, at such a young age, has been great for his career,

you know,

to give him that experience of going abroad and playing, I think has been unbelievable decisions on, on his part, to now make that decision from going to Dortmund, to Real Madrid, at such a young age, and to perform the way he's performed.

But, I don't think it's just his performances that has gained the love of Madrid and Real Madrid fans.

I think what he's done, he's come in as a, as a humble person, which he is.

He's a hard-working person.

He wants to learn the language.

But more importantly, you know, he's an exceptional player, but I think, the work rate that he does in a game, sometimes, you know, there's two different players at Real Madrid.

You have your, your stars, and then you have your workers.

And, What was you?

I was a worker.

Okay.

I was a worker.

And, and that's how I always saw myself.

If I wanted to fit in, if I wanted to, gain the love of the Real Madrid fans, you know, there were so many stars in our team, you know, and I saw myself as, I've always seen myself as a, as a worker on, on the pitch.

And I knew that if I worked harder than any other player, then at least the fans would respect that.

And I think that Jude's gone in there.

He's an, he's an exceptional talent.

He's a star, but he's also a worker.

And I think that that's why it's been so successful for Jude in his, in his first year.

Well,

I think something again, a lot of people, most people won't know about you.

And you're talking about work rate.

I remember that's one of the lasting big memories I have of you outside of the pitch.

We'd, my first ever preseason, we'd done a bleep test.

You weren't great at it.

I was poor.

I just flew on in for my nap.

So I weren't going to be ready for that, but it looked like you had trained all summer.

You finished, you and Yorkie completed the bleep test.

I was standing there, I rang my mate's half and I said, but you wouldn't believe this.

These two guys, I don't know what they've done all summer, but they ain't done what I've done.

And they've completed the bleep test.

Do you know what?

It's stubbornness in that bleep test.

Is it?

It's all about, well, you have to have a little bit of stamina, obviously, but more importantly for me, it was more stubbornness.

I didn't want to be, I wanted to be the last one to finish.

And I was watching players drop out, drop out, and then other players will come in, you know, year after year, and there'd be more athletes.

And I'm thinking, okay, I'm going to have to step it up again.

Were you training off season?

No.

No.

So how the hell are you doing this then?

I just weren't doing what you were doing.

Right, we'll move on.

We'll move right on.

You were talking about Jude there, and I look at him, and obviously, as a player, I agree with everything you said about him.

But as impressive is his ability to be striking these huge deals now off the pitch with Skims, Kim Kardashian's company, the face of Louis Vuitton now.

When you look at him, or is there anybody else, who do you look at and go, you know what, if I had a blank canvas for that person, I'd love to shape him and help him as well.

Is he one of those guys?

I think, like I said, I think Jude's got some really good people around him.

You know, he's got, his mum and dad are incredible.

Obviously, he's got his brother as well, but I think every decision Jude's making has been a very good one at the moment.

You know, and I think that that will continue.

But obviously, you know, I think that these, these things are always going to come to him.

You know, if he's doing well on the pitch, then he's going to get,

I'm sure, many opportunities to, to sign big deals and things like that.

But he knows, he knows, and I'm sure his mum and dad know, that as long as it's not affecting him on the pitch, then, you know, it doesn't really, I'm not saying it doesn't matter what he does off the pitch, but as long as he's, as long as he's doing it on the pitch, then that's the most important thing.

What do you think about, or what did you used to think about when a deal would turn up on your desk?

What were the kind of main drivers as to why you would do them deals?

Because you are the benchmark, you're the guy who kind of set a present place.

I think that I always, I always look for the future.

Is this a good deal, you know, is this going to look a good deal in 10, 15 years time?

Because I've been lucky, you know, I've been lucky enough to have signed with some great brands and great companies that, you know, has lasted for 10, 15, 20 years.

You know, I've been with, you know, Adidas for now, for almost 20, 28, 29 years.

Older than your kids.

Older than my kids.

So, you know, those are the things I look at are, is this, is this brand good for me?

Is it good for my business?

Um, and is it going to affect my football?

And that's the first question I'd ask.

Is it going to affect my football?

And, and none of them did.

None, none of the deals that I did over my career, you know, affected me on the pitch.

You know, people talked about it, but did it affect me?

No.

You've got a thick skin, haven't you?

And I think you'll want to, you know, of course.

And, you know, I think that I, you know, I had opportunities, I suppose, in my career at times that, um,

uh, that, that players weren't doing, you know, and players weren't getting these opportunities, you know, but, you know, once I started doing things, then there was other opportunities and other things that were coming up for, for players, you know, in, you know, around.

What gave you the confidence to do that though?

Because I remember, look, I was never getting anything on your level, right, but I remember that all of the players, most of the players get, you pay for your country or a Man United, you get offers to do stuff.

And like you, I was always conscious of, oh, would that impact the career?

What is Santo going to say?

How did you block out all the noise?

Um,

stubbornness.

This word keeps coming up,

stubbornness, I suppose.

I know, I know, I know.

It comes up a lot at home as well.

um, yeah, I am, I am a stubborn person.

And I suppose if I get it in my head that it's the right thing to do, then I believe it's the right thing to do.

But it also goes back to what you said about business and, you know, a team, you know, you have to surround yourself with the right people.

And I've had about six people around me for the last 25 years.

And one person around me for the last 35 years that always tells me the truth, that always tells me what is good for me and what they believe is good for me.

And it's the same in football and it's in business.

You surround yourself with people that are going to be honest with you and also people that are better than you at making these decisions.

And that's, that's what I've always tried to do.

I love that.

Has the stubbornness ever gone wrong and got you into trouble?

Of course.

Mostly with my wife because I always think I'm right.

We all do.

And she always thinks she's right.

So, you know, so maybe the stubbornness.

Yeah.

But talking about those deals, one of them obviously is the Adidas, who you mentioned before and your longstanding relationship with them and hugely successful, but you've, you've had a boot as well that became almost like your boot, the predator.

Yeah.

There's players now that are sitting there wanting that and it's on the table almost and they're within touching distance of that.

What are the pressures that come with having your own boot?

Because I remember I used to watch you by the way, in England or with United, the amount of different boots you had coming through the door with different styles, different, one of your new babies on it, name and stuff like that.

It was just mad.

I was like, you know, I'm an East End boy, so we like nice things.

So I think that with, with me, you know, creating new boots or designing new boots with Adidas over the years, that, that was not pressure.

That was not pressure.

But, you know, I suppose when you're with a company as big as them, for the amount of time that you've been with them,

you know, I think that, you know, that relationship is, is a special one.

You,

I'm right in remembering you used to wear a new pair every game.

It got to that point, actually, funnily enough.

They, they kind of, I actually used to wear a new pair for warmup.

Then I'd wear a new pair for the first half.

And then I'd wear, most of the time it was down to, um, uh, if I'd done that the week before, or if I'd had a bad first half, superstition, and that's what really, but that was later on in my career.

That wasn't, that wasn't early.

Did you remember players by boots as a kid?

Cause I used to think, when I look back, I used to always, I loved that player.

He used to wear them boots, John Barnes, Deodorus, you know what I mean?

And so on.

Was you like that as well?

Um, I was like that because I, you know, I was always a fan of, you know, Brian Robson, you know, and I always remember him wearing New Balance.

Yeah.

Um, and then obviously Glenn Hoddle, he always wore Hummel with a big white tongue flopping over.

Um, which is why I really wanted to be with Adidas because I wanted to wear the Copas or the World Cups.

Flap over tongue.

Yeah.

And then obviously once the Predators came out, I was like, okay, that's my boot.

That's, that's what I want to wear.

Cause my kids now are like, ah, dad, the Ronaldo boot.

I need to do an Ronaldo boot.

Oh, I know.

It's mad like, what do you mean?

And we used to, well, I definitely used to have one pair of boot.

When I was a kid, I used to have one, at least like one pair of boot for the whole year.

That was it.

Oh, there was no changing.

No, there was no changing.

That was a crime.

How dare you ask?

I know.

You've got a hole in it.

Play with it.

Don't it?

Talking about kids.

And I have this conversation with a lot of my mates again as well about,

we've, we've done well in our careers and we're in doing different businesses now.

And if you've got two boys playing.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

How do you go about instilling that hunger, that stubbornness, that drive, that determination that we had into kids that our kids are privileged?

Well, I think it's very difficult.

It is difficult because they do have different lives and upbringings to obviously what we had when we were kids.

But if you bring them up in the right way, you know, and you talk to them enough and you have that relationship with them enough, they have that drive and they have that passion.

As long as they have a passion, if they have a passion, then you know that they're going to work hard for it.

You know, I'm lucky with my boys and, and, and obviously, also with, with Harper at 13 years old, you know, they have a passion, you know, Brooklyn's got a passion.

You know, he's jumped from obviously photography, cooking, cooking, you know, he, so he has a passion.

So he wants to work hard for it.

And then you have Romeo with his football or tennis or whatever he's done over the years.

He has, he has a passion.

Cruise, passion for music.

You know, I've never seen someone pick up a guitar and play all night long, you know, as much as, as he does,

because he's passionate about it.

you know, when I'm watching my team play, you know.

So when did you realise you had the passion for cooking?

Because I see you doing bits and bobs, and I like the, the care you're taking with that is like you crossing, crossing the ball, or trapping into the six yard box.

Well, since the documentary, everyone's talked about the mushroom moment.

Yeah, man, what's going on?

I know.

People, people like that, by the way.

A lot of people like the, the care and consideration that I put into grilling a mushroom.

Is, is that in all different facets of your life though?

I can imagine like in a bit, in, in, so in an office,

how does that come out?

In the office, how does that come out then?

Well, if you walk into my office, or our office area, where everyone is, it's spotless.

Is it?

It's spotless.

There's no coats on back of chairs.

They all have to have, be hung up in a certain place.

Everything has to be kept in a certain place.

Oh,

you ain't that dad, are you?

You ain't that dad.

I'm that dad.

I am that, but that's, you know, I think if you're going to do something, you've got to do it to the best of your abilities.

And, and that's the way I've always done things.

And, you know, even with cooking, you know, I have to get it right.

You know, I went through a stage last week when I was in Miami.

And I, I all of a sudden, I was with one of the, I was with Sergio Busquets, and we were talking about food, and we were talking about Spanish food.

And he said, oh, I make a great Spanish omelet.

And I was like, and I had it in my head.

Has it got potatoes in it?

Yeah.

Potatoes, eggs, and onions.

Okay.

And I had it in my head to perfect, perfect Spanish omelet.

And I made, for a week, I made a Spanish omelet every day.

What?

To perfect it.

That's some obsessive shit.

But do you know what?

It all comes from, it all comes from my mum.

Really.

You know, that's really where, you know, my mum used to let me cook with her when I was young.

And then obviously when I moved to Manchester, and I moved in my own house, you know, I cooked.

And I love cooking.

If you've got a date night with a missus, what's the go-to meal that you're going to cook to really kind of like set the fireworks off?

Well, Victoria always loves, she loves grilled shrimp.

So for starter, I'd make her some grilled shrimp with,

with avocado.

And then for a main, I would make a salt, a sea bass, but I'd salt bake it.

Oh yeah.

So I'd do that.

She loves that.

And then for dessert, what would she have for dessert?

I'm not sure she'd have dessert actually.

Would she?

No.

I'd always have dessert.

No.

So that's what I'd make for her.

And then for me, I'd make a,

I'd make a nice ragu with fresh pasta.

I'm coming round for some food.

I'm getting hungry now.

Serious.

But no, it is, I think it's like, I love cooking.

Like, I love it.

But do you know what?

I love the cooking side, but I think more importantly,

I think when I've looked back at why I love it so much, it's because I'm creating something for whoever's going to eat it.

And it's most of the time, it's my family and my kids and my wife.

And I love seeing their reactions to the food.

And most of the time it's good reactions.

But really, that's really when I have all the family around me.

And that's what I love.

But I don't just get excited about the Michelin star restaurants.

I get excited about pie mash.

I get excited about fish and chips.

You know, I'm passionate about all foods.

It's not just high-end restaurants.

No, that's true.

But the kids in my house, they know when his dad's cooking.

Because the reggae music's on.

And the red wine's out.

And what's your favourite?

What's your go-to?

Lamb chops.

Seasoned, nice.

Loads of herbs on it.

Medium red?

Yeah, medium red, but crispy.

Okay.

Yeah, on the outside.

And then I'll have, I'll probably do some rice.

And I'll do a nice little,

what do you, gravy.

I was going to say juice, but gravy.

Bit of bistro.

Bit of bistro.

Yeah,

bistro's a part of it.

But then I'll add some little Caribbean flavours in there and peppers and stuff.

I'm getting hungry, man.

Let's move on to one of your other passions.

You bought a football club.

I know.

Like, that is just mental.

Did you ever imagine

lacing up your boots as a kid?

What are you thinking about buying a club?

Because everything you've done in your life seems quite strategic.

I wouldn't say it's something that I dreamed of as a kid, but it's definitely something that I thought about as a young player or dreamed about as a young player.

You know, I always wanted to own a football club.

You know, I never had aspirations of being a coach or a manager.

You know, I just didn't think I'd be any good at that.

But I wanted to own a club.

I knew I'd be, I knew I'd think I could be good at that.

And that's what I always wanted.

And obviously, when I moved to America and I had the opportunity to own a team at the end of, you know, my time at the Galaxy,

I snapped it up because I knew that that's what I wanted to put in the contract and they gave me it.

Is that the best deal in football history, that deal?

It's got to be up there.

It was a pretty good one, to be fair.

It was a good one.

I don't think they'll do it again.

Like Jordan.

You're messing it up

for everyone else.

I don't think they'll do it again, but you know, I was very lucky.

And then,

you know, it was all about picking the place.

You know, and obviously for me to have played in LA for six years and obviously travelled around America,

you know, obviously Miami didn't have a team.

They had a team back in the day, but they didn't have a team at the time.

And I always loved Miami as a city.

I hadn't spent much time there, but I knew the passion of the people.

I knew the diversity of what Miami had.

And I knew that in the future when we had a team,

I wanted to be able to attract, you know, some of the best players in the world.

And when you're living in Miami and you've got that lifestyle, that's an important part of it.

It's an important draw for players around the world.

And I think that that's what,

that's one of the reasons why I was, you know, I was, I had a great time in LA because it was, it was a great city.

It was a great city for the family.

You know, the kids had an amazing time.

Victoria loved it.

And we were welcomed with open arms.

So, you know, that, putting all of that into, you know, what I wanted and my vision, you know, I learnt from managers like the boss.

I learnt from things that he told me over the years.

I went to him and asked for his advice on, you know,

I went to him

once and said to him, you know, how, how, I'm starting this team, how do you, how would you run it?

How would, you know, your philosophy, I want to learn from you.

Can you, and he sat me down for a couple of hours and he told me, you know, what I should do and what players I should be looking for and how I should run the academy.

And that's really what I've tried to do.

And then I also learnt from people like Florentino Perez.

You know, because, you know, with Florentino, he has this crazy vision of always bringing the greatest players to the club and building this unbelievable stadium and, you know, with what the boss told me, the boss was like, okay, the academy is really important.

So when I first moved to LA, I turned around to the commissioner of the league and said, how many academies are in the league?

He said, none.

And I was like, how is that possible?

Where do the players come from?

And where do, he said, well, there just isn't.

I said, okay, for longevity and the future of this league and the future of this game in this country, academy systems are important.

I was brought up in one, you were brought up in one, you know how important academy systems are, you have to have one in each of the clubs in the MLS.

Now, every one of the clubs in the MLS has that academy systems and all of these young players that are coming through,

they're all coming through this academy system and that's not just good for the game, it's good for every MLS club, but it's good for the future of the country in America.

to have all of these players coming through from local areas is such an important part of it and as much as I love seeing the players and the team that we have created at Miami, obviously you've got Leo, you've got Sergio, you've got Julie Alba, you've got Luis Suarez, but when I see them passing around the pitch and all of a sudden they pass to Benjamin Krumashi who has come through our academy from a young kid and is now playing with these

players, that makes me proud, that makes me proud and it's such an important part of the future of the game there.

So yeah, it was a great deal, it's been a lot of work and it's been a huge challenge for the last 12 years now,

but being able to arrive in our stadium and see the players that we have and the success that we have had so far on the pitch and off the pitch,

all the hard work has been worth it.

You mentioned talking to the commissioner, is that actually you, David Beckham, talking to the commissioner or is it one of your team?

Oh no,

it's me, it's me.

I've always had a great relationship with the commissioner, Don Garber, and when I first moved to America,

he knew that I was moving there to be a LA Galaxy player, but he also knew that I was moving there to try and lift the game in the US and that was part of my job as a player, also as a future owner,

to be able to raise the profile of the game.

and I love the fact that when I moved there, I think there was only 14 teams in the league, now there's going to be 30, I think next season.

I think there's 26

stadiums specifically for football now throughout the league, whereas I think there was probably six when I was there, when I first moved there.

So a lot has changed over the years and I feel very proud that I've been part of that change, but I know that there's still a lot of work to do, but I think what we've done in Miami, when you bring someone like Leo to America, I always said that it was our gift as an ownership group and as a person that owns the club,

I wanted to do something for the game, but I also wanted to do something for America because they've given me so much over the years and they've given me so much love that to bring Leo to inspire the next generation of players in America, that's what we wanted to do.

It's a beautiful gift, isn't it?

Jesus.

I mean, honestly, to walk in that stadium and to see him, I still get emotional about it now when I watch him each game, the fact that he is playing at our team, he's playing at my team.

I can't believe we've got a player of that magnitude playing for our team.

What's he like behind the scenes?

Is he great with the kids and time because you don't see a lot of that?

Do you know, I think that one of the things that I learned from the boss over the years, and it wasn't something that he specifically told me, one of the things that I learned from the boss was it's not about bringing the biggest and best players, it's about bringing the right players.

If you can bring the biggest and best players that is the right player, then there's not many of them around, but with Leo, that's what we knew that we were bringing.

And I knew that, yes, he was going to be successful on the field, but I also knew that he was going to help our club off the field as well.

And I think that that's why it was important to surround himself with the right network, you know, with Sergio, with Luis, with Geordie.

As soon as you put those people around him, making sure that his family are happy, making sure that his kids have got the right school, making sure all of those elements are so important to bringing a player like that.

But the one thing that Leo is good at is

teaching.

He's good at teaching the young players that are coming in from the academy.

He doesn't make any player feel below him.

He's that player that will stay out on the training ground, teaching the young kids, going to watch the academy kids playing.

He'll be, we've seen it over the years, he'll be the first in the gym and he'll be the last out of the gym.

It's so surprising because we don't see that, yeah?

We associate that with his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, but Messi's just natural.

But he works at this, he's working behind the scenes.

I don't think

you get to that level without having that within you.

You mentioned Cristiano, I've heard that from multiple people about him as a player and how much he works at it and how much he works at the elements that he's been praised at for many, many years.

But Leo, for me,

he's,

I'll take you back to the first day that he came into our training ground.

he arrived at about 6.50 in the morning and there was nobody in the training facility apart from one guy to let him in.

He arrived at 6.50.

That's nuts, man.

And the team weren't training until 10.

Team weren't training until 10.

What's he doing then?

Preparing.

Preparing.

He's in the gym, he's warming up,

he's doing all of the things that you expect a young kid to do and he's still doing them now at his age and everything that he's won in his career you'd expect him to be a bit more relaxed but he's,

if I had to describe him with one, he's a winner.

As simple as that is a winner and not in

the sense of what he's won but he's still hungry.

He's still hungry for championships, he still gets angry at players for not doing the right thing, he still gets angry when he loses games, you know, those kind of things, even when he's not playing he gets angry.

You know, he's on the side of, you know, when he's not playing, he's been injured, he's there at every game.

He doesn't have to be there at every game but he's there at every game.

That's the type of player and person he is, you know,

it's unbelievable to see.

Would you go as far as to say probably the most dedicated, hungriest footballer you've been around?

At his level without a doubt, at his level without a doubt, you know, to still be like he is now is unbelievable but we knew that that's what we were bringing.

And going back to you on that, you had crazy drive, crazy determination and application.

Where did you get yours from?

Where does that come from?

My dad.

Is it?

Yeah.

My dad and my upbringing.

You know, I knew how hard my mum and dad worked, you know, over, you know, my, you know, when I was growing up

and I didn't want to let them down.

You know, they'd put so much into my career from such a young age.

They were every game that I played, every training session that I did.

They spent money to get me to different places.

They spent money to buy me boots every year.

You know, I never wanted to let my mum and dad down and that's really, you know, my dad, you know, used to come in at 8 o'clock at night and he'd still, he'd come straight out into the garden and play keep up with me.

You know, and he'll take me over the park.

You know, those are the kind of things that made me kind of work harder when I was a young kid.

We'd done an interview with Cristiano not long ago and he spoke about how how do you get the hunger into your kids and that drive and that and determination and he was talking about they just watch me.

I'll just do what I do and a big part of it is for them to see.

Is that why you're continuously working?

We talked about when you first come in, you're always here, there and doing loads of different things.

There's one of those for your kids to see, listen, you've still got to work.

Without a doubt.

Without a doubt.

You know, a lot of people have said to me I've been retired now for,

it must be 12 years from the game and people turned around to me say, why don't you relax?

Why don't you go on holiday?

Why don't you just go and do I was like, well there's time for that.

You know, I can do that but I like to work.

You know, I like to work and I've, you know, I've built the business around that and I think that, you know, I'm very lucky to have the business and the people in the business that I have and there's responsibilities that come with that but the reason that I work the way I work is because I want to set the right example for my kids.

You know, my kids saw their dad retire from playing football, you know, 12 years ago.

It would be easy for me to just sit back and enjoy it and do something from time to time but I like coming into the office every day.

I like doing the things that I do and like I said, I also have responsibilities but the main reason is because I want to set the right example for my kids.

That's good.

Can you give people hunger or is it something that is in you?

Can you give it to them?

I think you can.

I think you can.

You can teach them and then it's up to them to kind of take it on from there but me and Victoria have always been hard working and I think that our kids have seen that over the years.

We've worked very hard, the two of us.

She's had a business that's been going now for just over 17 years.

My missus loves it.

It's good to be fair.

It's good.

But she's worked at it and it's not been easy

but the hard work's starting to pay off.

You inspired me in terms of ownership.

I've had quite a few different people come to me, big consortiums, a lot of money, never at the right time.

Now I'm getting a bit older and things are shaping out differently.

I'm looking at maybe going into that world.

If you were going to go watch out for this, what would be one of the first things that comes to mind in terms of going into ownership?

I suppose the people that you're going into it with, more importantly.

You have to, you know, of course you make mistakes over time but always surround yourself with the right people.

And I'm lucky.

I'm very lucky.

I have my business partner that has been my friend since I was 14, 15 years old.

And I'm lucky enough to have him now running the business with me.

And we make the decisions together.

But I've also, and we have also surrounded ourselves with really good people that help us make the right decisions as well.

What are different aspects or a couple of different aspects you go, you know what, to succeed you do need this though?

Hard work.

I love that.

Simple, isn't it?

You don't change,

is it?

Hard work.

It's not, you know, it's not anything, you know, it's not anything groundbreaking.

It's as simple as that, you know.

Sometimes I'm the first one in the office turning the lights on and then I'm the last one out of the office turning them off.

And it sets the right example.

You know, I can't do that every time.

But when I can, I do and I think it sets the right example.

It sets the right example for the team that we have.

And everyone knows that, you know, I'm

always professional.

I'm always hard working.

I'll always over deliver.

And I'm lucky that I have a team that do exactly the same thing.

Does exactly the same thing.

Always over deliver.

I like that.

Always.

You've done that as a player, I think, as well.

You did.

I don't know.

You've produced, man.

You've produced the

goods.

I try.

I try.

What actually makes a good owner?

I know you're saying about work hard, but like, obviously, there's a lot of surprises you get as a new owner.

But what makes a good

owner?

Leadership.

You have to lead by example.

And you also, to be a good leader, you also have to understand that you have people around you that are a lot more cleverer than you are.

And if you can accept that fact, then you're going to have a successful business.

Because I think to be a good leader, yes, you can work hard, you set the right example, you turn up earlier and you leave late and you make all those decisions.

But you have to have people around you that are better and cleverer than you.

Have you always been a leader?

I know you became captain of England, but when you were younger, was you always a captain or did you grow into one?

I think I grew into one.

I think I grew into one.

Maybe it was always there and maybe that's what brought it out of me, you know, being given the captain's armband for my country.

But did I ever see myself as a leader?

No.

I never saw myself as a leader, but I think that when I got that opportunity, I felt that I grew into it and I felt that I'd been part of enough teams with enough great leaders in and been managed and coached by some of the best in the world to then take it on myself.

And you look at the leadership now, obviously it's changed at Man United.

Ineos have come in now.

How do you see that?

And are you excited by the new addition to the club?

Well, I think that it definitely needed change.

I think speaking as a United fan, you know, I think that, you know, many people had said that, you know, the club needed change and it needed a fresh perspective in how this club needs to be run and the decisions that are made.

I really like Jim.

You know, I've met him a few times over the years with a few mutual friends and, you know, I think that he's a fan and obviously he's a great businessman as well, one of the best and one of the biggest.

But I think more importantly, the fans see that he cares and I think that that's a big part of it.

I think obviously the fans had lost faith with obviously the leadership over the years and obviously seeing Jim now come in, I think that they've seen that, you know, he really cares about, you know, what he wants to do and what he wants to create.

So, you know, hopefully

you know, things will change.

But these things take time.

These things take time.

And, you know, we, I think we have been quite patient as United fans over the years, but, you know, we want those good old days back.

We want, you know, we want those days back and the sooner the better.

Just finishing on leadership and I think there's always tough decisions in leadership

and going into business you probably sometimes don't consider them a lot, but you had a tough decision in actually sacking one of your best mates in Phil Neville.

How does that feel?

How do you approach that?

And then how do you come up, is Gary Neville ringing you going, listen, this is how you do it?

No, I didn't speak to Gary about it at all.

You know, Phil has been in management for a long time, you know, and he knows what happens in management.

And I think when I first bought in Phil to manage the team in Miami, I knew what he was going to do.

I knew he was going to steady the ship.

I knew that he was going to bring the work ethic that I'd seen over the years and he's kind of everything had to be perfect, you know, with Phil and he brought everyone together and he changed that club overnight.

You know, what the work that Phil did was incredible, but Phil knew that it's, and he said the same, it's, you know, if I'm not getting the results, I know what's going to happen.

And we're close enough to have that conversation.

You know, when he first came in, I said, Phil, I don't want this to affect our friendship.

He said, I get it.

He said, it won't.

He said, when the time is, when the time's right, if it's right, we'll both know.

And we had a very sensible conversation and, you know, but I will never underestimate what he did for the club.

You know, for those couple of seasons, he was unbelievable.

You know, his coaching staff and everything that he did, you know, at the club was incredible.

And unfortunately, you know, the results weren't great and, you know, he kind of accepted that.

Just take me back to that though, because I can't imagine how difficult, I can't imagine how difficult that is, having to kind of put your shirt and tie on in the morning, knowing that you're going in to say to your mate, this and thanks, but no thanks now.

I think it was one of the most difficult things that I'd had to do.

You know, even though me and Phil had spoke about it, you know, when he first came on as Miami coach, I knew that if it came to this moment, it was going to be difficult, no matter, you know, what time it happened and when it happened.

So it was a really difficult, you know, conversation.

But in all honesty, you know, Phil's an ex-player, is an ex-player that has been in the game for a long time.

He's been through his ups and downs, you know, on the pitch.

And, you know, he just said, you know, we both, he picked, I'd called him and said, you know, we're going to meet and, you know, he said, I know, he said, I know.

I can imagine Phil.

And then, to be honest, we walked in the room and, you know, we hugged.

We, you know, it was quite emotional on my side just purely because I didn't want to sack a friend.

I didn't want to get rid of Phil.

But I think at the end of the day, he accepted it

like you would think he would.

Yeah.

Well, we're talking about old school stuff here.

I've got something about myself here that I need you to get your eyes on and just give me a judgment.

This is 2004.

An honest judgment.

Be honest, man.

Brutal.

We're used to having hard conversations.

That's our industry.

That's what it's about.

This was 2004.

Yep.

Scalzi, myself, Wazza, Alan Smith and John O'Shea.

Oh, my God.

I remember, without you even showing me this, I remember, was it a night out in Manchester?

You were walking down the road like a bad boy band.

A bad boy band, yeah.

That's exactly it.

Just talk me through the outfits there, please.

I think Scalzi still wears that outfit now.

To be fair, I actually think Scalzi's the best dress there.

Shut up.

Come on, bruv, please.

I do.

Don't do that to me, man.

Smudger, I don't know what's going on there.

The neckline's nice.

Yeah, the neckline.

My colours.

He's just come out of the gym.

Your colour, that's a big colour.

It is, isn't it?

They were in them.

You had a couple of them around them.

To be fair, it's not a bad picture.

He gets hammered online, you know.

I get hammered, that gets thrown at me all the time.

I mean, it's not, it is like a bad boy band.

Have you got any pictures like that that you go,

if I could get rid of that one?

Which one is it?

No, there's none I'd get rid of.

No?

Because, you know what it's like, you don't regret any of it, you just think that was a moment in time.

That's what I always say.

You know, in the 90s, we all wore flares and bell-bottoms.

These are back again, the flares.

Yeah, there you go.

You created like a lane for footballers in terms of like style before it was even accepted to do so.

But what was like behind your willingness to kind of go out there and be the first one and to accept all the criticism and negativity that might come your way doing that?

There was never really a purpose behind any of it, really.

You know, I did it when I was in the right mood to do something different, you know.

And, you know, when I first had the mohawk, that was for a photo shoot.

I was doing one of the first photo shoots that I ever did.

And the photographer was like, how do you feel about like just, you know, doing a mohawk?

And I was like, yeah, I'll do that.

Wow.

So it was just an off-the-cuff kind of thing.

And most of my decisions of what I wore, the front covers that I would do, my hairstyles really would come off the cuff.

That is nuts because there were so many mad ones.

And I didn't, I didn't, I was never bothered about, I was never bothered about what people said.

Never.

I suppose if you thought about it for too long, you'd probably not do it, wouldn't it?

Well, I'd probably still do it.

Stubborn.

Stubborn.

But, you know, even my dad would call me up and be like, boy, are you sure about that?

Is that what he calls you, boy?

Yeah.

I love that.

He'd be like, boy, are you sure?

And I'd be like, yeah, dad, it's fine.

I can change it tomorrow.

You know when you look at the players now, because I see a lot of players now, they're into the fashion, all of their Instagram is, I don't even know some players are footballers because it's all about what I wore.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Do you still think you'd be the main man if you were playing today, fashion-wise, given how much interest and kind of effort these guys put into it?

Um, maybe.

I actually didn't put too much effort into it.

I just kind of wore what I wanted.

It just happened.

Yeah.

I just woke up like that.

No.

I, you know, I just, I don't know.

I, I always liked fashion.

I always did things there.

Even when I was a page boy for my mum's best friend when I was a kid.

You know, I was given the opportunity as a, you know, as a kid when I was 12 years old or 11 years old and I was page boy for one of my mum's friends and I had the opportunity to either, she gave me the opportunity to either wear a suit or knickerbockers.

You know what knickerbockers are?

So knickerbockers with white silk socks and a pair of like ballet shoes and I wore that.

Did you?

So, I, so I don't know.

There was always something in me that liked, you know, dressing different.

Well, you both worn ballet shoes then.

Wow.

It's one thing we both want together.

Wow.

Yours is slightly bigger than mine.

Yeah, that's the problem.

If I was going to go like, give me a top couple, two, three players now, dress-wise, style-wise.

I know more basketball players than footballers and their style.

That's because they do the runway almost on the way to the

games and it's a big thing, isn't it?

It's a big thing.

See, Barcelona were doing that before.

Yeah, funnily enough, our team started doing it a couple of times and I stopped that.

What?

What?

The man about fashion, the man who broke down all the barriers.

Yeah, but we weren't winning games at that point.

That's the key, see?

We weren't winning games.

That's like, I don't want your, if I'm an owner, I don't want to see you on social media if we're seventh or eighth.

That's exactly what it was.

I don't want to see you coming in in different fits every day.

If we're top of the league and we're winning, by all means, you

can do that.

There you go.

To a point.

Yeah?

Yeah.

I can't believe that Mr. Fashion has said there's no fashion going on at my football club.

That's nuts.

Well, they can still do it.

They just don't want to see it on social media if we're actually losing games.

All right, listen, it's been a great time talking to you.

But the last thing I want to ask you, I can't let you leave this room without speaking to you about some of the best players you've played with.

Yeah.

I want you to give me a five-a-side team of the best players that you've played with and a little bit of a background on them.

No goalkeeper.

No goalkeeper.

I was just about to say, can I not have a goalkeeper?

They're not really footballers,

are they?

All right, okay.

No, not at all.

Okay.

I would have to say Roberto Carlos because he can play in defence and attack.

He used to play more attack than defence, to be fair.

And then I would have to say

Maldini.

Did you play with him?

Yeah.

Milan.

Milan, oh yeah.

Paolo.

I thought I had a chance to get in the team.

And then, actually I forgot about you.

Oh, okay.

And then I would say Zizou.

Nice.

Give me something that you haven't spoke about about him.

Like, how was he this good?

Like, what did he do at a moment where you just...

Do you know what?

He just, he's one of the, not just one of the greatest players that I've ever played with, one of the hardest trainers.

And also, just cool.

It's just cool.

You know, without, without trying.

You play him a ball anywhere on the pitch.

Any height, any level, any speed.

He'd bring it down like it was just one of those things that he does.

And he's got possibly one of the best headbutts I've ever seen on the pitch.

To be fair, people, people literally used to turn up at the Bernabeu to watch him just control the ball.

That's it.

That's it.

Because it just, it was, it was like a, it's like watching a ballerina.

Just the way he plays is so elegant.

Everything about him is elegant.

I've met a lot of, all the best, all the greats I've met him.

Yeah, the ones that are still here.

He's got a different aura.

Ain't it?

Yeah.

He ain't even talking a lot either.

I don't say much, does he?

He's just like almost like, can I talk to him?

And that's when you know he's so special, Zizou, because he walks into a room and without even look, without even seeing him come in, you know someone's walked in.

The next one would have to be one of the greatest and most natural goal scorers that I have ever, ever seen.

Ronaldo.

Oh, nein.

Just tell the younger audience, please, about this guy.

What was great about him?

I think when you watch Ronnie play back in the day, I mean, he's

electrifying on every level.

One of our first training sessions was in Korea, I think, or China.

I'm not sure where we were at the time.

And the ball had just been played across to him and all he had to do was put it in the goal.

And as he's played across to him, I'm trying to defend it.

So I've slid across.

And as I'm sliding across, I thought he was just going to play it first time into the goal.

And as I'm sliding across, he just puts his foot on the ball.

And as I'm sliding past, he just watches me like that with the biggest smile on his face.

And he just taps it in.

And I was like, oh, God.

Wow.

So, so, yeah.

So.

What was he laughing at night out?

Don't know.

Never went out of him.

Don't.

He was mad.

I've seen him in San Jose once.

We had a lot of dinners together and he's, he's, he's the best.

He's the best.

The funniest, kindest.

He's a really kind person.

Yeah.

And he really helped me at Real Madrid and helped Victoria and the kids.

You know, he used to have these Brazilian barbecues around his house on a Sunday.

You know, all of his family, all of the friends, few of the players.

And we all used to go around, me, Victoria and the kids.

And it really helped us at the time because you need, you need, you know, people like that, that help you when you move into different countries.

And he was, he was unbelievable.

Oh my goodness.

My last one.

Do you know what I want?

I want to.

I know you're going to pick.

I'm going to say Keeney.

I knew it.

I knew it.

I'm going to say Keeney.

You know, you need a leader and you need someone that's going to actually tackle and fight and, and, and be the player that he is.

I'm going to have to say Keeney.

Get a bit more on him, like, because obviously people see him on the telly, they don't, a lot of kids and young people don't even know him as a footballer.

They just hear that he was a great player.

What was so great about him?

Forget about leadership, about as a player.

You know what?

He, he took no day off.

And I don't mean in, in the physical sense of having a day off.

I mean, every single day that he stepped on that training pitch, he wanted to win.

Whether it was at the, you know, the, the keep ball game, at the heading game, he inspired us every single day because he came in with that mentality and we all knew that that's, that that's what we have to cope with.

That's the level that we have to reach.

And, and that's why Keeney was who he was, because he was, he was a winner and he was hungry and he always wanted to win.

Well, Dave, man, that's quite possibly the greatest five-a-side team I've seen assembled now.

I know, it's not bad.

I'll be on the bench.

Me and you can be on the bench.

I'll take that right now.

I'll take that.

I'll take that.

Listen, thanks for being on the pod.

Really appreciate your time.

Pleasure, mate.

Pleasure.

Thanks for having me on.

Talk about.