Widely regarded as one of his generation's best players, David Beckham took the world by storm during his career, but the former England international has revealed how an encounter with Lionel Messi was all it took for him to decide to hang up his boots.
Having starred for the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and LA Galaxy, Beckham saw out his career with a brief spell at Paris Saint-Germain, where he had a fateful encounter against FC Barcelona and Messi in the UEFA Champions League.
PSG suffered a 3-3 defeat via the away goals rule in what ultimately proved to be Beckham's final appearance in the competition, with the former Three Lions captain retiring at the end of the 2012/13 campaign – a decision he revealed was influenced by Messi's performance.
Speaking in a recent interview with journalists from Argentina, the 44-year-old has now elaborated on that particular match, reserving praise for both Messi and PSG's performances on the night.
"We were ahead. (Messi) came on and Barcelona scored," Beckham said.
"Despite my age, I enjoyed playing and the team was good in both games. We did things to be proud of. We didn't lose to them."
After hanging up his boots, Beckham returned to the US, where he helped found Inter Miami FC, and the club made its MLS debut last month with a 1-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC prior to the season being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
