David Beckham is arguably one of the most recognized sportspersons of his generation. The Englishman earned a reputation for being a devastating midfielder with incredible crossing and free-kick-taking ability.
He also became a style icon after marrying Spice Girls singer Victoria and pursuing plenty of modelling opportunities to go with his footballing career.
Many boys wanted to be like him and women wanted to be with him. Just because of Beckham, Manchester United earned a lot of new fans in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He was among the most popular footballers around during that period, winning multiple Premier League titles and also the treble with the Red Devils in 1999.
Despite having an ugly departure from Old Trafford after Sir Alex Ferguson threw a shoe at his face during a dressing room quarrel, Beckham remains an ardent supporter of the Manchester side to his date.
In fact, he can often be seen attending United’s games and even playing in a few charity games for them.
Beckham was in attendance in United’s recent Premier League game against Arsenal. He saw his favourite side fall to a bitter 3-2 loss to the Gunners, who further extended their lead at top of the league table in doing so.
David Beckham might’ve been gutted by that result, but the same can’t be said about all his fellow family members. The ex-United winger brought his second son, Romeo Beckham, with him to the game.
To those unknown, Romeo is a die-hard supporter of Arsenal and he even mocked his father after seeing his side defeat United.
Now, ideally, this should not be the case at all. Beckham’s entire family has a history of being ardent United fans. David’s parents also supported the club and often travelled from London to Manchester to watch games at Old Trafford.
Then why has Romeo turned out as the one to support a Premier League rival like Arsenal? Well, Arsene Wenger might’ve played a role in that.
Many years ago, David took his son to a game involving the Gunners and the way Wenger treated Romeo won him over and convinced him to support the North London side.
David Beckham explained all that in a past interview, saying: “I tried to get Man United shirts on them early. Two of them are Man United fans and one of them’s an Arsenal fan. I don’t know how that happened, but my middle son, Romeo, is an Arsenal fan.
“Actually, I do know how it happened. I took him to an Arsenal game and Arsene Wenger treated him so well, gave him a shirt with his name on the back and his favourite number. I had that when I was a kid with Man United. I let them support whoever they want. They don’t have to support the teams I played for.”
Fortunately for Romeo, he didn’t have a generic English football-supporting dad who forces their children to support whichever team they are pledged to.
But David will now have to go through the pain of watching his son mock him for getting the win over his favourite side and possibly gloat about a Premier League title win at the end of the season.
