David Beckham reveals he was ‘mess’ after life-changing ‘stupid mistake’ in new Netflix documentary
DAVID BECKHAM has opened up on the fallout of his red card at the World Cup in 1998.
The former Manchester United midfielder was sent off for England versus Argentina after lashing out at Diego Simeone.
It led to the Three Lions being sent home from the World Cup as they went on to lose that game 4-3 on penalties.
Beckham was heavily criticised for not keeping his cool and received a barrage of abuse including an effigy of him being hung outside a pub.
It left him a “mess” as he lifted the lid on how seeing red changed his life in the new Netflix documentary titled “Beckham”.
Becks broke down in tears as he said: “I wish there was a pill you could take which could erase certain memories. I made a stupid mistake. It changed my life.
“We were in America [on holiday after the World Cup], just about to have our first baby, and I thought, ‘we will be fine. In a day or two people will have forgotten.’
“Wherever I went I got abused every single day.
“To walk down the street and to see people look at you in a certain way, spit at you, abuse you, come up to your face and say some of the things they said, that is difficult.
“I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping. I was a mess. I didn’t know what to do.
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“It brought a lot of attention that I would never wish on anyone, let alone my parents, and I can’t forgive myself for that.
“That is the tough part of what happened, because I was the one that made the mistake.
“When I have gone through difficult moments, I was able to block it out, but inside it killed me.”
His wife Victoria said it left Beckham, who was then just 23-years-old, “absolutely clinically depressed.”
She also said that she “still wants to kill people” who bullied and blamed him after the defeat.
On returning to play for Man Utd after World Cup heartbreak, Beckham revealed: “Anytime I was kicked during that season, it was like the opposition had got two goals.”
“As horrible as it was to look up to Victoria in the stand [getting abused], it was the one thing which spurred me on.”
Beckham thanked Man Utd and manager Sir Alex Ferguson for the support he received.