It's no secret that David Beckham is a big family man. The former England footballer has, despite a busy and glittering career in the sports world, always viewed his wife Victoria and their four children, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper, his pride and joy.
But you don't become one of the world's most talented and celebrated footballers without making some sacrifices along the way. David, 48, recently dropped his extremely candid self-titled Netflix documentary in which he talks about just that.
The Beckhams take Madrid
Even before children came along, he and his girlfriend at the time, Victoria – who was one-fifth of the biggest girl band in the world – would sacrifice time together in order to prioritise their careers. Archive footage of Victoria showed her saying: "I get to see David tomorrow, I haven't seen him for two months. I've forgotten what he's like to cuddle."
By the time the early 2000s came around, David's career as a footballer was stratospheric, and a move to Spain meant he and Victoria, plus baby Brooklyn in tow, would up and move to Madrid.
But before his family joined him, David flew out initially on his own after signing with the team in a huge deal overnight, which meant leaving his family behind, albeit temporarily, for the opportunity to play for a massive international team on a multi-million dollar contract.
Opening up about how this affected him, he said: "When I first moved to Spain it was difficult because I had been part of a club and a family for my whole career, from the age of 15 to when I was 27. I get sold overnight, the next minute I'm in a different city, and I don't speak the language. More importantly, I didn't have my family."
MORE: Cruz Beckham's new life in LA after moving out of London family home
© Glenn Copus/Evening Standard/ShutterstockDavid added: "When I played for Manchester United, even when I lost or wasn't playing well, I knew that I was going home to my family every night. Whereas I wasn't going home to my family in Madrid. And that was difficult."
David Beckham heads to the City of Light
In more recent years, David opened up about making more sacrifices for his family when he signed with Paris Saint-Germain, which would end up being his last team as a professional footballer. The job meant the father-of-four had to commute across the channel between London and Paris.
© Netflix"When you speak about the sacrifices, that's obviously the sacrifice that I have to make as a father and as a husband, being away from my family," he said during an interview with CNN in 2013. At the time, his youngest Harper, now 12, was just two years old.
"It's only for a short time but it's difficult being away from the children every single day. But they understand it, they understand that daddy works hard."
5 Revelations from the Beckham documentary
1. Beckham gets the boot from the boss
David's mentor and 'father-figure' Sir Alex Ferguson accidentally threw a football boot which hit the footballer above his eyebrow after Manchester United's 2-0 loss to Arsenal during the fifth round of the FA Cup final in 2003.
2. David was "clinically depressed"
David faced death threats and abuse after being given a red card during the 1998 World Cup against Argentina – a move that many insisted cost England the game.
3. Posh and Becks changed David
Victoria was on fifth of the biggest girlband on the planet, so when they started dating, 'Posh and Becks' became a global phenomenon, something that Sir Alex said "changed" David.
4. The couple get candid
David's alleged affair with Rebecca Loos and the media frenzy surrounding the story impacted their marriage. "We felt that we were not losing each other but drowning," said the footballer.
5. David almost misses Cruz's birth
Victoria said how husband David nearly missed the birth of their son, Cruz, in 2005 as he was attending a photoshoot with J-Lo and Beyonce. Fortunately, David made it in time.
The early days of Posh and Becks
But it seems that sacrifice worked both ways. There were times when David would sacrifice his career for the sake of his loved ones, particularly in the early days of David and Victoria's relationship.
Speaking on the Netflix docu-series, David's fellow Manchester United teammate, Gary Neville, explained how the couple would be on the phone together until the early hours. What's more, David would jump in the car and drive for hours from Manchester to London to visit Victoria, even just for a few minutes of quality time.
The documentary also reveals how there was even a moment when his teammates noticed how tired and unfocused the footballer was due to his commitment to the long-distance relationship.
The series even revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager at Manchester United, viewed David and Victoria's relationship as a distraction for the team and David's career.
From London to Miami
However, now that the kids are more grown up, their dad David's work as a co-owner of Inter Miami FC means they get to enjoy travelling to and from the Sunshine State regularly, and even enjoy glitzy football bashes, where they rub shoulders with the likes of Lionel Messi and Josef Martínez.
© Megan Briggs
