David Beckham's reaction to Carlos Queiroz's theory that Pepsi advert led to Man Utd downfall | OneFootball

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Carlos Queiroz has suggested that David Beckham’s involvement in a Pepsi advert was to blame for his ‘decline’ during his final season at Manchester United.

Beckham wanted to stay at Old Trafford but was deemed surplus to requirements by Sir Alex Ferguson, whose relationship with the club’s superstar steadily deteriorated. Ferguson famously kicked a boot at Beckham, albeit inadvertently, leaving a cut above the winger’s eye.

Ferguson also dropped Beckham for a crunch Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid, instead opting to deploy Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the right flank. Beckham, fuming after being dropped, came off the bench and scored two goals before being asked if he was coming to Madrid by Zinedine Zidane.

United agreed a fee with Barcelona for Beckham at the end of the season, but the England captain only had eyes for Real Madrid - especially after his brief chat with Zidane, who was arguably the world’s best footballer at the time. Beckham subsequently became a Galactico, Man Utd brought in a new No. 7 in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the rest is history.

What did Carlos Queiroz say about Beckham?

Speaking on the four-part Netflix documentary about Beckham’s life and career in football, Queiroz - Ferguson’s assistant on two occasions (2002-2003, and 2004-2008) - claims that the global icon’s performances began to suddenly decline. Puzzled why, Queiroz believes that Beckham’s involvement in a Pepsi advert may have been to blame.

"Our observations and analysis, we start to feel David's performance was in a declining process," Queiroz explained. "I was mad with that situation. 'What's going on?'

"All of a sudden, one story comes out: the famous advertising of gladiators. A couple of players developed the upper body and if one player developed three, four or five kilos more of the upper body without the right coordination, it can affect their performance as a football player. It was clear it was not the same David.

"In 2003, guys like David, they're not only playing football, they are companies. It is a fight between things inside the pitch and outside the pitch. In that period, the business jumped inside the pitch." Watch the advert below:

How has Beckham responded to Queiroz?

When he heard about Queiroz’s theory, Beckham responded emphatically: “I would never, ever, have put myself professionally in a position that changed the way I played". Beckham admits he didn’t get on with Queiroz who, ironically, was appointed Real Madrid manager in the same summer the winger moved to the Bernabeu.

What happened next?

While Beckham lasted four seasons at the Bernabeu, before completing a surprise move to LA Galaxy, Queiroz didn’t even reach a full year before he was sacked by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. The Portuguese coach immediately returned to Man Utd, where he worked for a further four seasons, before taking the Portugal job in 2008.

The 70-year-old has since managed Iran, Colombia, Egypt and Iran. He is currently the head coach of Qatar’s national team.