David Beckham, 50, says he weathered the toughest parts of his career thanks to his dad’s strict parenting style.
During an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of “This Life of Mine with James Corden” podcast, the soccer icon spoke about his upbringing and his own approach to raising kids.
Despite excelling in soccer, Beckham said he never considered himself an especially talented player when he was younger.
“No, because my dad was so tough on me as a young kid,” Beckham told host James Corden.
“I have two sisters, and we lived in a household with a lot of love in it, but my dad was so tough on me with my Sunday league football team that he very rarely turned around to me and said, ‘Well done, boy. You did well today, you played well,'” Beckham said.
“He’d say it, but then he’d say, ‘But this is what you can do better,’ and, ‘This is what you should be doing,’ and, ‘If you just did that, you would be able to score or cross those balls like that,'” Beckham said.
He added that his father’s strict feedback kept him from ever considering himself a great player.
It wasn’t until much later in his career that his father finally expressed approval, Beckham said.
“But my dad never told me I’d done well, really, until my 100th cap. That was the first time my dad turned around to me and said, ‘You’ve made it, boy,'” Beckham said. “That was the first time. Not even when I got into the United First team, not even when I won the Premiership, not even when I won the Champions League.”
In soccer, a 100th cap represents a player’s 100th appearance for their national team.
Beckham added that the compliment from his father came during dinner in Paris in 2008, after the match.
“And that was the first time he really kind of acknowledged the career that I’d had,” Beckham said.
He also credited his father’s tough love for fueling the relentless work ethic he became known for.
Beckham added he “might not have been able to get through” some of the hardest moments in his career if his dad “wasn’t as tough” with him as he was during his youth-club days.
“All of those moments where my dad was hard on me as a kid, there was a reason for it. Those tough moments that I had in my career, all I knew was to put my head down and work hard,” Beckham said.
But as a father of four, Beckham said he is “definitely not as tough” on his own children.
“I am different with my kids. I’m a lot softer than my dad was, but there’s certain traits that I do have the same as my dad,” Beckham said, adding that he can be strict with his sons when it comes to how they play soccer.
In early November, Beckham was knighted by King Charles III for his services to sport and charity.
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