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Love him, hate him, you certainly could not ignore him. David Beckham was a superstar on the pitch and off it.
Whether it be scoring goals or being sent off, scoring with Spice Girls or shaving his hair off, Golden Balls was plastered on the front of newspapers, TV bulletins and, eventually, social media alike.
He was the ultimate A-list celebrity and he had an A-list wife to boot. And now, there is a peak behind the curtain with a new four-part documentary on Netflix about his illustrious life.
READ MORE: Victoria Beckham admits horror of 'Posh Spice takes it up the a**e' footy chants
READ MORE: Sir Alex Ferguson went 'absolutely mental' at Beckham over agent in one of worst-ever hairdryers
But while we know he regretted kicking Diego Simeone and that he loves to spend on flashy gadgets, the new doc gives us little insights to other parts of Becks' life.
Here are some things that we learned about England's former golden boy…
He loves playing with his 'sticky stuff'
Beckham admits that playing with 'DB's sticky stuff' is one of his favourite pastimes – and he has been told it tastes "really good" too.
The legend offered a cheeky insight into the sense of humour of himself and his wife Victoria at the start of the documentary. Golden Balls can be seen in the vast land of his Cotswolds home with his beehives, which produce fresh and delicious honey.
Speaking to the producer at the start of the documentary, Becks says: “Here it comes, I see it dripping," before he is asked: “What’s the name of your honey again?” Becks replies: “There is a bit of an argument in the house at the moment. I think it should be called Golden Bees. Victoria likes DB’s Sticky Stuff.”
After the producer enjoys a little taste of the honey, he says: “David, it tastes really good man. DB’s Sticky Stuff.”Beckham responds: “See, it’s growing on you.”
There is real hatred of Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is normally disliked these days for a rogue opinion as a pundit, but the opinion of him in the Beckham household is far deeper rooted.
Following Hoddle's scathing criticism of the winger at the 1998 World Cup, Becks quickly became public enemy No1 – and Victoria for one has never forgiven him for it.
She says: “Glenn Hoddle didn’t come out and try and protect David. How old was David then? 23? Glenn Hoddle was man… well, I wouldn’t even call him a man. He was an older person.
“The absolute hate. Public bullying on another level.”
Even Becks' mum Sandra got in on the act, adding: "When I watched Hoddle’s interview, I thought what have you done. He made it like it was David’s fault. We’d been used to a manager in Sir Alex Ferguson who never spoke about his team. They just blamed him after that."
Beckham was named after a Man Utd legend
We all know Beckham loves Manchester United, but his dad loves the club even more, despite being from London.
In fact, he loves United that much that Beckham's middle name, Robert, is a little nod to Sir Bobby Charlton.
“Bobby Charlton is my hero. Robert is after Bobby Charlton," Ted says. “I’d have loved to have been a footballer. But I had the next best thing. I taught him how to kick a ball properly. Right foot, left foot."
David added: “His dream was to have a son that played for Manchester United. My dad would take me out for hours.
“I was more scared when I was there, because if I put a foot wrong, he would tell me. And he would always tell me.
“I hear my mum turn round to my dad and say ‘stop talking to him the way you are talking to him, stop telling him off, he did well today’ and my dad would always be like ‘he did alright’.”
Posh Spice heard the 'take it up the a**e' chants
They might be celebrities, but they are certainly not deaf.
"Then they start singing songs about Victoria," Daivd said. "There was one song which she will kill me for singing. Every football fan sang this song…”
then Victoria jumps in: "Posh Spice takes it up the a**e! Excuse my language, not very lady-like. Seventy-five thousand people were singing that. It’s embarrassing, it’s hurtful.
"I remember sitting down and the lady sitting next to me turning to me, she said ‘do you want a polo?’ She didn’t know what to say! So I want a polo? What do you say when you’re sat next to someone and 75,000 people say you take it up the a**e! We did not know what to do, it felt like we were drowning.”
Resentment over alleged affair
David was accused of cheating on Victoria after moving to Spain with Real Madrid in 2003 – claims he has always denied.
In the documentary, Victoria says it was "the hardest period" because "it felt like the world was against us". Opening up for the first time on the allegations, she says: "You know, up until Madrid sometimes it felt like us against everybody else but we were together, we were connected, we had each other. But when we were in Spain, it didn't really feel like we had each other either.
"And that’s sad. I can’t even begin to tell you how hard it was and how it affected me. It was a nightmare. It was an absolute circus — and everyone loves it when the circus comes to town right? Unless you’re in it."
Asked if it caused resentment towards her husband, Victoria added: "If I'm being totally honest, yes I did. It was the most unhappy I have ever been in my entire life."
Mum and dad's cheeky payback to journalist
After Beckham was hounded following the 1998 World Cup, Beckham's parents couldn't resist the chance for a bit of secret dig at a journalist on an away trip.
His mum Sandra recalls: “We went on an away trip and we were put in the same hotel as the press. There was one newspaper reporter from The Sun and we had a meal on the last night and put it all on his room. Payback.”
David got Victoria's number on the back of airplane boarding pass
Victoria delivered a four-word message of "you better call me" after she scribbled her number on the back of a boarding pass at a Manchester United game.
She was a special guest at Old Trafford in 1997 and said: “When I saw him in the footballers’ lounge, the other players were at the bar, but he was stood talking to his parents. I’m very close to my family and I loved that side to him.
“We both come from families that work very hard. We’re both working class.
“I must have flown to the game because I wrote my number on an airplane ticket and said to him ‘you better call me’.
“I’m not the sort who was going to be interested in a footballer because they were famous. Not in an arrogant way, but I had that myself.”
First intimate moment was in a car park
Things escalated pretty quickly between the pair but their management didn't want the relationship to go public. It meant they had to get creative.
Victoria recalls: “My manager kept saying to keep it under wraps, don’t get photographed together. So we met in car parks – and I don’t mean that in a seedy way at all.”
David added: “The first kiss I ever had with Victoria was in the BMW in the car park. [Laughs] Classy.”
What happened to the Simeone shirt?
A number of months after Becks was sent off for the petulant kick on Diego Simeone, he was facing him once again, this time as Manchester United took on Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Following the game, in which United were victorious, Becks is seen swapping shirts with his old foe.
“At the end of the match, he was sensible enough to exchange shirts with me," says Simeone with a smile.
What happened to that shirt? "I framed it," said Beckham.
- Netflix
- David Beckham
- Victoria Beckham
- Manchester United FC
- England Football Team
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