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David Beckham has recalled the moment that he was told by Fabio Capello that he would never play for Real Madrid again.
The former England captain had made 124 appearances for Los Blancos by the time he entered his fourth season at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Things started to sour for Beckham after Capello returned to the club for his second spell as manager in 2006.
As revealed in the ‘Beckham’ Netflix documentary, Capello said ‘The Galacticos are players from another universe.
David Beckham has opened up on his time at Real Madrid under Italian Fabio Capello
Capello set about ‘fixing’ the Galacticos culture at the Santiago Bernabeu and would often bench Beckham, as well as Brazilian superstar Ronaldo
Beckham was told by Capello that he would never play for Real Madrid again after interest from LA Galaxy – before the Italian changed his mind because of the player’s work ethic
‘They arrive from the stars to a club, which is great motivation for the opponents to beat them. So I had to fix that.’
Ronaldo recalled Capello ‘having a firm hand,’ while Beckham said: ‘He was like a tough, strict manager, which I loved. He made me nervous and I don’t get nervous.’
However, concerns over his future at the club started to spring up when Capello started dropping him from the starting XI.
Beckham said: ‘He benched both of us. It killed me. At that point I wasn’t sure of my future at Real Madrid.’
His situation attracted the interest of MLS side LA Galaxy, which led to Capello leaving Beckham out of the squad.
Beckham said: ‘On Monday morning, Capello called me into his office and said ‘I heard you’re talking to other clubs, you will never play for Real Madrid again’. Obviously at that point I was very upset.’
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Having made 30 starts in LaLiga during the 2015-16 season, he made just 14 in the following campaign under Capello.
After playing a bit-part role at Real in the first half of the season, Beckham announced in January 2007 that he would be leaving the club to sign a five-year deal with LA Galaxy.
Beckham’s game-time dropped during the 2006-07 season, and it would be his final campaign at the club before joining LA Galaxy
Beckham said he had a ‘point to prove’ to Capello after winning back his place in the team
Despite this, he remained professional in training as he wanted to ‘prove a point’ to Capello.
Former team-mate Roberto Carlos revealed that the team spoke Capello and ‘pleaded for him to let David back’.
Capello reversed his decision to sideline Beckham, citing the player’s professional attitude in training as the reason for his U-turn.
The Italian said on Beckham’s documentary: ‘David was always on time for training and kept working very hard. It was quite a surprise for me.’
‘I went to the president and said: ‘From tomorrow, I will let David play. If we lose, you can send me away.’
‘But it was impossible for Barcelona to lose that lead [in the title race].’
Beckham would go on to play in seven of Real Madrid’s final eight games that season, as they pipped Barcelona to the title thanks to a better head-to-head record.
He would eventually reunite with Capello when the Italian was later appointed as England manager.
