David Beckham has revealed that an unknown person left him an apology note on his car, following the release of his Netflix docuseries.
The former footballer, 49, opened up in the documentary about the abuse he received in the aftermath of the 1998 World Cup.
He was sent off in England’s quarter-final against Argentina for kicking out at Diego Simeone after Argentina’s captain pushed him to the ground.
England lost the match on penalties, with David blamed for the defeat and hit by a barrage of hatred from fans.
He was continuously booed and booed by fans of opposition clubs for most of the following 1998–99 season, with a burning effigy of him and death threats among the worst reactions
David Beckham has revealed that an unknown person left him an apology note on his car, following the release of his Netflix docuseries (pictured)
The former footballer, 49, opened up in the documentary about the abuse he received in the aftermath of the 1998 World Cup (pictured)
He was sent off in England’s quarter-final with Argentina for kicking out at Diego Simeone after Argentina’s captain pushed him to the ground
After revealing the abuse in his docuseries, David received an outpouring of support from the public, who praised him for his strength during the difficult time.
Talked about the effect of his candor in an Emmy Extra Edition cover of VARIETYhe said he was glad it was making people take mental health more seriously.
He said: ‘I think my takeaway from my documentary was how important mental health is. Because twenty years ago no one was talking about it. And no one took it seriously.
‘Now it’s so great that people can actually talk about their feelings… A lot has been said about us in the last 27 years. It can be painful.’
David further revealed that he and his wife Victoria, 50, had recently gone to a pub and returned to their car to find a note with no name or address.
He said: ‘It said: ‘We are sorry for the way you have been treated.’ I still have the letter. But that’s how people felt, I think, after the documentary.’
David started in his series last October about the turbulent period and famous he was a ‘mess’ and could no longer eat or sleep Victoria revealed that he was suffering from clinical symptoms depression and the experience ‘broke’ him.
He recalled feeling “very vulnerable and alone” when he returned to Britain, where hordes of jeering onlookers and negative press were present.
England lost the match on penalties, with David blamed for the defeat and hit by a barrage of hatred from fans.
After revealing the abuse in his docuseries, David received an outpouring of support from the public, who praised him for his strength during the difficult time.
Speaking about the effect of his candor on an Emmy Extra Edition cover of VARIETY (pictured), he said he was glad it was making people take mental health more seriously.
His father Ted admitted David was ‘distraught’ when he met him. He said the young sports star “fell into my arms and said, ‘I let everyone down.’
David became emotional as he reflected on the reactions he received and confessed: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it because I can’t. I find it difficult to talk about what I went through because it was so extreme. The whole country hated me.’
Speaking about the horrific abuse – which became so bad that he could no longer go to the toilet unattended for fear of being attacked on the way – he continued: ‘Wherever I went I was abused every day.
“To walk down the street and see people looking at you a certain way, spitting at you, calling you names, coming up to you and seeing things they said, it’s hard. I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping, I was a mess.’
The sports legend, who was just 23 at the time, also described the impact it had on his parents, Ted and Sandra, noting: “It brought a lot of attention that I would never wish on anyone, let alone my parents and I could do that. I don’t forgive myself for that.
“That’s the hard part that happened then. I’m 47 years old now and I still piss myself off about it. Inside it killed me.”
Football legend David is married to former Spice Girl Victoria and they share four children: Brooklyn, 25, Romeo, 21, Cruz, 19, and Harper, 12.
Opening up about the turbulent period in his series last October, David admitted he was a “mess” and could no longer eat or sleep, while Victoria revealed he suffered from clinical depression and the experience “broke” him.
Football legend David is married to former Spice Girl Victoria and they share four children: Brooklyn, 25 (right), Romeo, 21 (top centre), Cruz, 19 (left) and Harper, 12 (bottom centre)
In the four-part series, the Beckhams gave an intimate insight into their marriage and early romance, their family life, and charted David’s football career. His documentary attracted a record number of 3.8 million viewers during its premiere week.
According to the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB), 3,813,100 fans watched the first episode.
The second episode was also a success, reaching 2,868,800 viewers in the week ending October 8.
BECKHAM was the streaming service’s most-watched show for two weeks upon release, with 11,600,000 fans worldwide, according to Netflix’s own data.
