Manchester United hero David Beckham says that after having his iconic angel wings tattoo on his back, he used to stick to the bedsheets.
The former Red Devils midfielder has revealed all to former team-mate Gary Neville on his The Overlap YouTube channel, answering 29 questions about himself. The pair spent 11 years together at the club, having both come through the academy and became good friends.
So much so that Beckham lived in Neville’s house for a year in the late 1990s. His room was dubbed the ‘Beckham Suite’, and he lived there while he started to get tattoos.
Asked how many he now has, Beckham replied: "I probably have 81 [tattoos] now. Individual 81, yeah. [The first one] I had it done then I stayed at your house. No that was the second one so the first one was Brooklyn on the bottom of my back.
"The second one was the angel and I was sleeping at your house at the time and it stuck to the bed!" Beckham’s angel wings are somewhat iconic, and the brilliant story about them will certainly be remembered for a very long time by the former United stars.
Beckham was also asked about which of his 81 tattoos is his favourite, and it made for somewhat awkward viewing after he forgot to name his wife Victoria on his list. "It's hard to pick a favourite one, to be honest. [My] kids' names," he said, leaving out his wife of almost 24 years.
The former England international quickly realised that he had missed his ex-Spice Girl wife out, adding: "And Victoria's [name]. Throw that one in." He and Neville then laughed before brushing over the topic and continuing the interview. Beckham has four children with Victoria, Brooklyn, 23, Romeo, 19, Cruz, 17, and Harper, 10, and all of their names are tattooed somewhere on his body.
Brooklyn is tattooed along the base of Beckham’s back, then on the left of his neck he has two tattoos for daughter Harper – one is her name in cursive, sitting below the words ‘Pretty Lady’. Romeo is then printed on the back of his next with a crucifix with wings. ‘Buster’, which is Brooklyn’s nickname’ is also written on his neck.
Romeo is also tattooed on the back of Beckham’s spine, with Cruz printed halfway down. Victoria’s name is etched on his hand in cursive, written alongside a picture of a hummingbird and ‘My Love’. The number 99 is also inked onto his finger, the year that the pair got married.
Beckham is certainly one of the most well-known footballers in the world, having enjoyed time in Spain, Italy, France and the United States, as well as being one of the first to step into the showbiz world while still a player. So much so that the now-Inter Miami owner has revealed that he is often asked to use his name to book restaurants – to which Neville laughed: "That is the best thing about having David Beckham (as a friend). You always get a seat in a restaurant. It's unbelievable, the contacts are incredible."
The Overlap is a YouTube channel from Gary Neville in partnership with Sky Bet.
