Man Utd accepted fierce rivals' bid for David Beckham before Real Madrid move

Daily Mirror

08-05-2025

David Beckham took his fame to another level when he left Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2003 - but the former midfielder has revealed that he could have ended up elsewhere
David Beckham's desire to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid was solidified after the club tried to flog him to Barcelona. Beckham became a Galactico in 2003 when he swapped Old Trafford for the Bernabeu – but the transfer only came to fruition after Barca got involved in a tug of war.
The England star came through the United academy and played for the club for 11 years before deciding to move elsewhere. A falling out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson played a role in the decision, with Fergie writing in his 2013 autobiography: 'David was the only player I managed who chose to be famous, who made it his mission to be known outside the game.'
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He added: 'The minute a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager he had to go... David thought he was bigger than Alex Ferguson. There is no doubt about that in my mind.'
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Real Madrid ended up paying €35million (£25m) to United for Beckham and the right midfielder joined on a four-year contract which was reportedly worth €6m per year. But had United chairman Peter Kenyon got his way, Beckham would have actually joined Barcelona instead.
"My team was always Real Madrid and funnily enough I got sold from Manchester United to Barcelona," he told CBS Sports. "I was on holiday, Peter Kenyon phoned me and he said: 'We've accepted a bid from Barcelona and we're selling you'.
"I said: 'If you are going to sell me, the only team I want to move to is Real Madrid', because I always had a dream of playing for Real Madrid when I was a young kid.
"I never thought I'd leave Manchester United but if I did, you know, I'd love to have played for Real Madrid. And if they wanted me to leave then the only club that I wanted to go to was Real Madrid." Beckham added: "Funnily enough, in a day and a half, it happened.'
In a separate interview with BBC Radio 4, Beckham admitted that United's desire to sell him to a club he didn't want to join helped clarify his thoughts about joining a star-studded Real. 'There was never any revenge. I was hurt and angry at the time at how the situation had gone because throughout the season I was left out of certain games but never thought it would lead to me leaving,' he said.
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"But I had heard rumours I might be sold. I was on holiday in the States with Victoria and one of my friends called and told me it was on Sky Sports that United had agreed terms with Barcelona. I said 'that wasn't right, I don't know anything about it'.
"I then flew back to London. I tried to speak to Peter Kenyon and tried to speak to the manager and he said 'no'. I said 'well I need to speak to him and understand what is going on'. He said 'it's true, we have agreed a deal'.
"That is when I spoke to my agent and said 'if I am going to move, I'm going to move to Madrid'. Within a day, I was sat with the president of Madrid and we agreed that is where I was going to go.'
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