04 October 2023 , 08:58
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Roy Keane believes David Beckham's exit from Manchester United was 'not good' for the dressing room after Sir Alex Ferguson sanctioned his departure.
Beckham spent 12 successful years at United, making 394 appearances and winning eight major trophies, including the Champions League in 1999. But amid speculation over his future, he former England midfielder was sold to Real Madrid for £32million in 2003, with Beckham signing a four-year contract at the Bernabau.
However, Keane does not believe the move worked out for United at that time, as Arsenal went on to win the Premier League title that next season. The ex-Republic of Ireland international spent a further two years at the Red Devils before leaving by mutual consent in November 2005.
Delivering his thoughts to Beckham on his exit, Keane said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet: "Power and control - that's how he managed. You were getting older, we were all getting older, and people were getting married and having kids - the manager certainly didn't like not having that control over the players.
"Whether it be the agency, your haircut, or where you were living - I have no doubt that he was getting fed up with it, losing that control over the players.
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"I don't know if it was the best for Manchester United. It ended up being brilliant for you, living in a new country and trying something else, but I certainly don’t think it was good for the dressing room.
"I'd say the same for when Paul Ince and the other lads left - when players go, you do think there is no logical reason for a player to leave at that time."
David Beckham left Manchester United to join Real Madrid in 2003 (Getty Images)Beckham went on to make 155 appearances for Los Blancos over the course of four years, before departing to join La Galaxy. The ex-AC Milan, however, did not want to leave United and admitted he also failed to speak to Ferguson before leaving the club.
"Over the years the manager had always made the right decision in his eyes for the team, and the club," Beckham also told the Stick to Football podcast. "That happened to me in the end, I didn’t want to leave Manchester United at the time - we’d just won the league again, but all of a sudden I get a phone call to be told that Manchester United had agreed a deal, and that was the end of it.
"Even trying to speak to the manager after that, he didn’t want to talk to me. It wasn’t out of spite, he was on holiday, he didn’t want to be contacted, he’d made his decision and that was the end of it.
"It had happened notoriously over the years at Manchester United with Mark Hughes, Andre Kanchelskis, Paul Ince, and all these great players getting let go at a time where we felt they were in their prime, but the manager makes the decisions and that’s all that matters."