Former Manchester United star David Beckham has admitted that he cried when he was told by Sir Alex Ferguson that he had been awarded the infamous No.7 shirt at Old Trafford.
Beckham, who spent a total of 12 years at the club, was reassigned the iconic number ahead of the start of the 1997/98 season, following United's capture of striker Teddy Sheringham from Tottenham Hotspur. The latter joined the Reds for £3.5million and was awarded the No.10 shirt Becks had worn during the previous campaign.
Beckham had worn it the season prior and had enjoyed a lucrative campaign, scoring 12 goals and registering ten assists, meaning it was understandable that he enjoyed sporting that particular number. However, the blow was well and truly softened for the former England captain when he was informed that he would be claiming the No.7 shirt instead.
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It is one of the most iconic shirt numbers in football and has been worn by a plethora of big-name stars at United down the years, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Eric Cantona and George Best. Therefore, Beckham has detailed just how emotional a moment it was for him when Ferguson told him that he would be the club's new No.7 back in 1997.
"I'd had probably one of the best seasons of my career in that No.10 shirt," said Beckham, speaking in a special video released by United. "The phone rings and it's the boss. He said, 'David, it's the boss. We're signing Teddy Sheringham and he's going to have the No.10 shirt. See you pre-season'.
"And that was it. I go into pre-season, the boss pulls me into the office and he said, 'how are you feeling, David?' I said, 'well, boss, I really loved the No.10'.
"He said 'yes, but you're going to get the No.7'. I think I cried. My dad was the first one that I phoned when I got the No.7 shirt. My dad was a Bobby Charlton fan; that's why my middle name is Robert.
"So my dad was a full-on, hardcore United fan. So the fact that I was then his son playing for Manchester United, wearing the No.7 shirt, I knew how important that was."
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