David Beckham opens up on boot incident with Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd | OneFootball

The history of the Premier League is packed full of notable Manchester United moments. The Red Devils have won the competition more times (13) than any other side but with that success comes the spotlight – and not every moment of their past is bathed in glory.

Indeed, there are moments of infamy littered throughout United's time at the peak of modern English football. Eric Cantona's kung-fu kick springs to mind but perhaps just as famous was when David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson clashed on 5 Febuary 2003.

The English icon had long been a superstar at the club, playing a key role in numerous triumphs – including the Treble win of 1999. However, there were widespread suspicions that his relationship with Sir Alex was close to breaking point under the strain of his superstardom.

Following Man United's 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round, that speculation wasn't helped as photos emerged of Beckham with a cut above his left eye after the game. It soon became apparent that the midfielder had been hit in the head by a boot after his manager had lashed out in the dressing room.

At the time, Ferguson addressed the incident in the press, saying: "It was an incident which was freakish. If I tried it a million times, it couldn't happen again." He denied that any stitches were needed, calling it a "graze", and insisted that the club would move on.

By the summer of 2003, however, Beckham had been sold to Real Madrid. This incident appears to have perhaps been the straw that finally broke the camel's back. Now over two decades on, both player and manager have definitively spoken about just what happened in the dressing room all those years ago.

Beckham opens up infamous boot incident

He swore at Sir Alex

Talking in the 2023 Netflix documentary titled Beckham, the former England captain shed new light on the moment. He explained what happened in great detail, saying:

Sir Alex's version of events

Unhappy with Beckham's work rate

Adding his own insight on the events of that winter day in 2003, Ferguson would later write in his autobiography: "In his final season with us, we were aware that David's work rate was dropping and we had heard rumours of a flirtation between Real Madrid and David's camp.

"The main issue was that his application level had dropped from its traditionally stratospheric level. He was around 12 feet from me. Between us on the floor lay a row of boots. David swore. I moved towards him, and as I approached I kicked a boot. It hit him right above the eye.

"Of course he rose to have a go at me and the players stopped him. 'Sit down,' I said. 'You've let your team down. You can argue as much as you like'.

"The next day the story was in the press. In public an Alice band highlighted the damage inflicted by the boot. It was in those days that I told the board David had to go.

"My message would have been familiar to board members who knew me. The minute a Manchester United player thought he was bigger than the manager, he had to go."

When talking about the incident more recently in the Beckham Netflix documentary, Ferguson insisted that there was no need for the stitches that Beckham famously received, adding: "I think that was stage-managed. It wasn’t even worth a stitch."

Carlos Queiroz's point of view

Ferguson had bad aim

It's always good to have an impartial voice when moments of great controversy happen, which is why it was handy when Ferguson’s assistant at the time Carlos Queiroz offered his perspective. In 2021, he told Four Four Two: