I was spat at, abused and most hated person in the country after World Cup red – it changed my life, says David Beckham
FOOTBALL’S golden boy David Beckham has told of the heartbreaking moment he was “spat on” and the “most hated person in the country” as his reputation plummeted.
His career low came after the ex Manchester United footballer was dealt a red card in the 1998 World Cup while representing England.
Becks, 48, told his recent Netflix documentary of his torment after being sent off – which many fans believed cost the nation the trophy.
He was sent to the stands after a ill-timed tackle on Argentina’s Diego Simeone.
David — who was just 23 at the time — reflected on it as the hardest time of his professional and personal life.
He said in his new TV show: “What I went through was so extreme. The whole country hated me. Hated me.
“It changed my life. I felt very vulnerable and alone. Wherever I went I got abuse every single day.
“People look at you in a certain way, spit at you, abuse you, come up to your face and say some of the things that they said. That was difficult.”
The red card in the last 16 game against Argentina in 1998 was blamed for ten-man England losing on penalties.
For the next two years he was booed in stadiums across the country, and an effigy of him was even hung outside a South London pub.
Beckham was left clinically depressed by the hate he received after being sent off in a crunch World Cup match, his wife Victoria has also revealed.
The superstar pair recalled their pain in a four-part series called Beckham.
In tough scenes, Victoria said in a new Netflix documentary: “I mean, the absolute hate, the public bullying, to another level.
“He was depressed, absolutely clinically depressed.
“I still want to kill these people.”
The documentary also showcases the moment David knew he fancied now-wife Victoria.
He previously met the Spice Girl in car parks when they first started dating.
David has drummed up the anticipation for the documentary and told how it will feature “many stories I’ve never told.”
The four-part series, to be released on October 4, explores some of Golden Balls’ most iconic on and off-pitch moments.