DAVID BECKHAM broke down in tears as he opened up on the fallout of his red card at the 1998 World Cup.
The former Manchester United midfielder was sent off for England versus Argentina after lashing out at Diego Simeone.
The Three Lions then went out of the World Cup after losing the round of 16 clash 4-3 on penalties.
Beckham was heavily criticised for not keeping his cool and received a barrage of abuse, including an effigy of him being hung outside a pub.
In the new Netflix documentary “Beckham”, he reveals the backlash left him a “mess”.
Becks broke down in tears as he said: “I wish there was a pill you could take which could erase certain memories. I made a stupid mistake. It changed my life.
“We were in America [on holiday after the World Cup], just about to have our first baby, and I thought, ‘we will be fine. In a day or two people will have forgotten.’
“Wherever I went I got abused every single day.
“To walk down the street and to see people look at you in a certain way, spit at you, abuse you, come up to your face and say some of the things they said, that is difficult.
“I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping. I was a mess. I didn’t know what to do.
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“It brought a lot of attention that I would never wish on anyone, let alone my parents, and I can’t forgive myself for that.
“That is the tough part of what happened, because I was the one that made the mistake.
“When I have gone through difficult moments, I was able to block it out, but inside it killed me.”
His wife Victoria said it left Beckham, who was then just 23-years-old, “absolutely clinically depressed”.
She also said that she “still wants to kill people” who bullied and blamed him after the defeat.
On returning to play for Man Utd after World Cup heartbreak, Beckham revealed: “Any time I was kicked during that season, it was like the opposition had got two goals.
“As horrible as it was to look up to Victoria in the stand [getting abused], it was the one thing which spurred me on.”
Beckham, who went on to lift the Treble with United in the 1998/99 season, thanked manager Sir Alex Ferguson for the support he received.
He explained that Fergie called him after the incident to make sure he was okay.
Beckham said: “I think I got quite emotional on the phone to him and he said: ‘Son, go away for three weeks, go and rest. And when you come back, you’re going to get looked after here in Manchester.’
“And that was what got me through that particular season in all honesty, it ended up being a Treble-winning season.”
The United fans also helped Becks get through his tough time as he explained: “Every single game of that season was difficult, if I was playing away from home or at Old Trafford.
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“But the moment I walked over to the corner flag and the whole stands just rose and clapped me and cheered me and sung my name.
“Those were the Manchester United fans. And that was the most important thing for me.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
