David Beckham called time on his international career in 2009 as England captain and as a Three Lions record holder.
Up until 2016, the Manchester United legend held the record for the most caps of an England outfield player with 115 appearances – before being overtaken by Wayne Rooney.
But incredibly, ‘Golden Balls’ was overlooked to play for England‘s Schoolboys side due to his small stature.
It was a fear that his dad Ted had, despite the Real Madrid icon going almost 100 games unbeaten with east London local club Ridgeway Rovers.
Speaking in Beckham’s Netflix documentary, Ted admitted: “He’d won 92 games without getting beat, he was that good.
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“I was a bit worried about the size of him so that’s when we started giving him Guinness and a raw egg. To be fair to the boy, he did it every week.”
Snubbed by England’s Schoolboys, Beckham instead competed for Essex’s Schoolboys, which saw him feature at Anfield, where he even got an assist from a trademark free-kick.
Speaking in the 1990s about Beckham’s omission in footage chronicling Beckham’s rise, Essex boss Martin Heather explained: “David went to all the trials and regional ones, he did exceptionally well.
“He then went to the first residential trial at Nottingham, but I was told by the England selectors that they were only sending him because he’d done well, but he would never make an England player because he was too small.
“We often say playing for England Schoolboys is a kiss of death, but I think the reasons for him not getting selected were deplorable at the time.”
Asked what Beckham needed to be a schoolboy player at the time, Heather then quipped: “Well I think in those days you needed to have sideburns, two children and a car.”
Beckham, who later featured for local club Brimsdown Rovers, signed schoolboy terms for United on his 14th birthday.
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And his former assistant manager at Ridgeway Rovers – Steve Kirby – echoed Ted’s statement about the midfielder’s ‘disgusting’ diet he adhered to at United in an attempt to bulk himself up.
In the same video featuring Heather, Kirby recalled: “I remember him coming back one summer from United.
“He came back and said, ‘Oh they put me on a diet, this that and the other, and I’m going to have to drink Guinness with a raw egg in it.’
“It was disgusting, but I said, ‘That sounds really good, that’ll be all right Dave, you’ll be six-foot soon!”
Beckham’s ex-United and England teammate Gary Neville then popped up, where he stated: “When he came to the club, he was 3ft 2in, spiky, blond hair.
“And all of a sudden at 16/17, he just shot up.”
It was then Beckham’s turn to explain his growth, where the fresh-faced player said: “I don’t know if it’s the air up here, the mushy peas, the gravy or whatever, it’s something.
“Because the jellied eels never used to do it for me down there [in London]!”
Beckham, who was part of United’s famous Class of ’92 featuring Gary Neville and brother Phil, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, made his first-team debut in September 1992.
He stayed at Old Trafford until 2003 having scored 85 goals in 394 appearances – winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League.
He later played for Real Madrid, AC Milan, LA Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain.
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