'I babysat David Beckham - his behaviour annoyed my wife and she hated it'

The Beckham clan stands divided. Brooklyn issued an explosive statement outlining numerous grievances with his family and even declared his unwillingness to reconcile with them. Yet 23 years ago, circumstances were markedly different. Father David had just completed his transfer to Real Madrid from Manchester United in what represented a fantasy move for the then 28-year-old.

Alongside Victoria, he had two young lads in Brooklyn and Romeo, aged just four and one respectively. The Beckham empire had begun what would become one of the most legendary couples and dynasties in showbusiness. Beckham faced enormous expectations to perform in Spain and whilst he achieved silverware in Madrid, he ultimately never quite reached the anticipated peaks, subsequently moving to LA Galaxy in America before temporary stints with AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.

Former Madrid player Michel Salgado was tasked with "minding" Beckham at Madrid and disclosed how the England star ended up irritating his wife.

"I was the one to babysit David Beckham," revealed Salgado on the League of Legends show: "I did it a lot. It's because I was the only one to speak English.

"But it was brilliant with Beckham. He was alone in Madrid because his wife was travelling a lot, living in LA and England. So he would call me every day, saying 'let's go out'.

"And my wife was really p***ed off with the situation – but it was a great time."

Nevertheless, Beckham wasn't the only player Salgado was responsible for supporting. Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman, who represented the club for four years, also received assistance from ex-Blackburn Rovers star Salgado.

"I remember in my first day at Real Madrid pre-season," Salgado added. "At that time, we were sharing rooms – and they said 'you're sharing with the English guy, Steven McManaman'.

"So I was like 'oh my god, why'. They said 'because you're the only one who speaks English'. But in the end, it was great. I was the one to babysit the English guys."

Experiencing boredom in Madrid wasn't Beckham's only challenge. During his Netflix documentary 'Beckham', he discussed his relationship with Fabio Capello.

"He was like a tough, strict manager, which I loved. He made me nervous and I don't get nervous," he explained. "He benched both of us (Ronaldo, too) It killed me. At that point I wasn't sure of my future at Real Madrid.

"On Monday morning, Capello called me into his office and said 'I heard you're talking to other clubs, you will never play for Real Madrid again'. Obviously at that point I was very upset."