10-10-2023 (MANCHESTER) David Beckham recently shared an amusing anecdote from his time with Manchester United, revealing that the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson once forced him to get rid of his famous mohawk haircut just before the Charity Shield match against Chelsea in 2000.
Beckham, the former midfield maestro of Manchester United, was preparing to warm up at Wembley Stadium when Sir Alex Ferguson noticed his unconventional mohawk haircut. The Scotsman was far from pleased and immediately informed Beckham that he wouldn’t be allowed to play unless he removed the distinctive hairstyle.
In a somewhat unexpected turn of events, Beckham had to part ways with his hair using clippers in the Wembley changing room, just on the eve of the season’s curtain-raiser. Nevertheless, he went on to play the full 90 minutes of the match, even though Manchester United ultimately suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea, with goals from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mario Melchiot.
Beckham shared this humorous story and delved into his controversial haircuts while speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, presented by Sky Bet. He explained, “The Leicester one [buzzcut haircut], I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that – it wasn’t the haircut that upset him, it was probably the fact that no one saw it until I came out onto the pitch – even during the warmup I wore a beanie.”
Reflecting on the mohawk incident, Beckham continued, “The Mohawk was slightly different because I’d had a photoshoot that week. We were playing in the Charity Shield, and the gaffer looked at me once I took my cap off and said, ‘shave it off,’ as I was just about to go out for the warmup. I had to get a pair of clippers, go into the changing room at Wembley, and shave it off. He wouldn’t have played me [if I didn’t shave it off].”
Despite this amusing episode, Beckham’s time with Manchester United would come to an end three years later when he made a £32 million move to Real Madrid, signing a four-year deal in the process. However, the former AC Milan midfielder has since revealed that he didn’t initially intend to leave the club. He admitted that he failed to speak to Ferguson before his departure.
“Over the years, the manager had always made the right decision in his eyes for the team and the club,” Beckham explained. “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 got 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.”
