David Beckham he was spat on in the street after fans blamed him for England's elimination from the 1998 World Cup.
David Beckham was greeted with a torrent of abuse after the 1998 World Cup.
The 48-year-old retired footballer admitted he was deeply affected by the fallout 25 years ago and wishes he could "wipe" the memories from his brain after being sent off for kicking Argentine captain Diego Simeone after being pushed to the ground. .
Reflecting on the backlash on new Netflix series 'Beckham', she said: "Everywhere I went, I was abused, every day.
โWalking down the street and seeing people look at you a certain way, spit at you, insult you, get up in your face and tell you some of the things they said.
"That's hard... The whole country hated me."
The then-former Manchester United star, who was 23 at the time, insisted the "stupid mistake" actually changed his life, and fans lost their minds over the incident.
He added: โI wish there was a pill you could take that could erase certain memories.
โI made a stupid mistake... It changed my life.โ
In the weeks after the match, he reunited with his future wife Victoria Beckham (then Adams), who revealed that she was pregnant with their first child just before the World Cup, at a Spice Girls concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Victoria admitted: "I remember not really understanding how serious it was, what had happened because, you know, I'd never liked football.
โI love watching him play football, but I also love everything he does.
"He could be painting a wall and I would love to see him paint a wall. He was the one I wanted to support."
He recalled that his teammate "felt that he had been disappointed," as well as his teammates, the fans and "his country."
He struggled due to the response, as David admitted he "was a mess" at the time, not eating or sleeping.
His friend David Gardner added: "He walked the streets and people spat at him. But he never reacted, not once."
Even now, the footballer has begun to "punish himself" for the way the reaction affected his family.
Beckham reflected: โIt attracted a lot of attention that I would never wish on anyone, least of all my parents.
โAnd I can't forgive myself for that, that's the hard part, what happened then. I was the one who made the mistake...
"It's only now that I punished myself for it."
