FORMER England manager Glenn Hoddle turned down the chance to feature in David Beckham’s Netflix documentary, according to Fisher Stevens.
Hoddle, 65, handed the former Manchester United midfielder his first England cap back in 1996.
However, the two did not always see eye-to-eye.
Prior to the 1998 World Cup in France, Hoddle publicly accused Beckham of not focusing on the tournament.
And he later berated the midfielder after he was sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone in the round-of-16.
But despite playing a significant role in the early stages of Beckham’s acclaimed career, Hoddle denied the chance to be involved in the 48-year-old’s Netflix series.
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Speaking to talkSPORT, documentary director Stevens explained exactly why he was absent.
He said: “Well why don’t we call him right now and ask him.
“I called him and asked him to be in it many times.
“I mean, I didn’t personally, but we contacted his people. I guess he just wasn’t interested in being in the series.”
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In the four-part documentary series, Beckham opened up about his admiration for Hoddle as a child.
However, he also spoke about some of the disagreements he had with his former boss – one of which being his infamous red card at France ’98.
Discussing the incident, the England legend said: “I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it because I don’t think I can.
“I find it hard to talk about it because what I went through was so extreme. The whole country hated me.”
Beckham’s wife, Victoria, criticised Hoddle for failing to protect him at the time.
She said: “Glenn Hoddle didn’t come out and try and protect David. How old was David then? 23?
“Glenn Hoddle was a man… well, I wouldn’t even call him a man. He was an older person. The absolute hate. Public bullying on another level.”
And his mum, Sandra, added: “When I watched Hoddle’s interview, I thought ‘what have you done?’ He made it sound like it was David’s fault.
“We’d been used to a manager in Sir Alex Ferguson who never spoke about his team. They just blamed him after that.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
