David Beckham insists he never wanted to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2003, but says Sir Alex Ferguson 'made his mind up' over the transfer.
The former England captain was a big fan favourite at Old Trafford and scored 85 goals in 394 appearances during a successful spell at the club, where he had come through the youth system.
But things turned sour towards the end of his time at the club, with Ferguson unhappy at the midfielder's celebrity lifestyle.
"Over the years the manager had always made the right decision in his eyes for the team, and the club," Beckham told the Stick to Football podcast.
"That happened to me in the end, I didn't want to leave Manchester United at the time - we'd just won the league again, but all of a sudden I get a phone call to be told that Manchester United had agreed a deal, and that was the end of it.
"Even trying to speak to the manager after that, he didn't want to talk to me. It wasn't out of spite, he was on holiday, he didn't want to be contacted, he'd made his decision and that was the end of it.
"It had happened notoriously over the years at Manchester United with Mark Hughes, Andre Kanchelskis, Paul Ince, and all these great players getting let go at a time where we felt they were in their prime, but the manager makes the decisions and that's all that matters."
Beckham's move to Madrid saw him embark on another phase of his career, which later took him to LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain – and ultimately buying a club in Miami.
And despite not wanting to leave United in 2003, the Inter Miami owner now has no regrets with how things turned out.
"My life would be totally different [if I stayed at Manchester United]," he said. "I'd have still been living in Manchester, but I had the opportunity to go and play in Spain, learn a new language and culture. From there, move to America and have the opportunity to buy a team, then I went to Milan and ended my career in Paris.
"Culturally it's something that I loved, having the experience of playing abroad. When I was growing up, I had no intention of leaving Manchester United but when It happened, it was probably the best thing that could have happened for my life, even though I didn’t want it."
David Beckham was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
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