Renowned football icon, David Beckham, has opened up about the lasting pain he feels regarding the red card he received during the 1998 World Cup, describing it as a moment that left him emotionally distraught.
Beckham made this revelation as part of a forthcoming Netflix documentary series titled "Beckham," scheduled for release on Wednesday, October 4.
Many recall that he was famously sent off for kicking the back of Diego Simeone’s leg during a crucial last-16 World Cup match against Argentina.
England ultimately lost the game following a penalty shootout, with Beckham bearing the brunt of the blame from fans and critics alike. He endured jeers from rival fans during his subsequent appearances for Manchester United that season.
In the documentary, his wife, Victoria Beckham, revealed that the continued abuse had a profound impact on her husband, causing him to experience severe depression. At the time, Beckham was only 23 years old and was also adjusting to becoming a father for the first time in March 1999.
Beckham candidly admitted that the relentless abuse "took a toll on me that I never knew myself." He expressed his desire for a hypothetical pill that could erase such memories, acknowledging the profound effect of his own mistakes on his 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,'" Beckham reflected.
"I don't think I have ever talked about it, just because I can't. I find it hard to talk through what I went through because it was so extreme," he continued.
"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," Beckham shared.
"I wasn't eating, I wasn't sleeping. I was a mess. I didn't know what to do," he added.
"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," Beckham admitted.
"That is the tough part of what happened, because I was the one that made the mistake," he concluded.
"It is only now that I am 47 years old, it is now that I beat myself up about it (still)," he reflected on the enduring impact of that fateful moment in his career.
