“I hadn’t actually watched it and I hadn’t actually watched the interviews and what people said about me after,” he says, adding that it left him “shocked and emotional”.

Beckham was given a red card for deliberately kicking the back of Diego Simeone’s leg. He lashed out after the Argentina captain pushed him to the ground.

England’s World Cup hopes were crushed, and Beckham instantly went from hero to villain.

Beckham includes footage of the hatred the football star received – condemnation in British tabloids and constant abuse from fans, including one who hung his effigy from a noose outside a London pub.

“I knew it was bad at the time, but going over that whole thing was quite a tough one,” he says.

The backlash continued throughout the next season.

“It wasn’t just stepping onto a football pitch, it was every time that I went out in my car and people stopped me and spat at my window and you know, all of those things, and then walking into a restaurant knowing that everybody in there hates you.”

Best friend David Gardner recalls how Beckham even had to be accompanied to the toilets by friends for his safety, yet he never retaliated.

“Back then there wasn’t anyone turning around to me and saying, ‘Are you OK? Are you sure you’re OK? Let’s talk about it.’”

Even his own family struggled to understand. “Twenty five years ago, if I’d have turned around to my dad and said that I don’t feel great, he would have said, ‘Boy, just get on with it.’ So that’s how I grew up and that’s how I knew how to kind of handle a situation like that,” Beckham says.

“I became, I wouldn’t say a cold person, but I was able to block things out that were challenging and difficult for me at the time,” he adds, saying it helped him grow as a player and as a person.

He explains that he learned from an early age that you can win a trophy and celebrate that evening, “but then the next day you’re on to the next season and you’re on to something else”.

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“I’m not a person that sits and reflects on past achievements and things like that,” he says.

The first episode, which debuted on October 4, explores young David’s upbringing in Chingford, Essex, and his relationship with his father.

“He was a very disciplined dad from a very early age. And when I didn’t play well, he told me, and when I did play well, he kind of told me that I did play well, but not too much,” Beckham says with a smile.

It had always been his father’s dream for his son to play in the English top division for Manchester United, and it soon became their shared dream turned into reality.

After being spotted by a scout while playing on London’s Hackney Marshes, Beckham moved to Manchester at 15. The tough love continued under Ferguson. Their partnership helped Beckham win six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and one Champions League.

“Without a doubt, me getting out of London at that time and becoming a Manchester United player, in the north, surrounded by unbelievable people – that for me without doubt helped me have the success and have the career that I had and have,” he says.

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“Having the discipline of Sir Alex Ferguson possibly was one of the biggest reasons I was able to succeed.”

But the discipline didn’t rub off when it comes to his own four children: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper Seven – who all appear in the documentary. Beckham admits that while his wife is “pretty strict”, he finds it hard to lay down the law.

“I always thought growing up, if I was to become a young dad, I would be like my dad. I would support my kids with going into football and be hard with them. But I was nowhere near like my dad was. I’m a bit of a softie.”

Meeting Spice Girl Victoria Adams was a pivotal moment in Beckham’s life. She was already a global superstar as “Posh Spice” and he was a rising talent with Manchester United.

“It wasn’t something that normally happens, you know, a footballer and a pop star coming together and the pressures of that but also her being on the world tour, me really wanting to see her. But obviously I couldn’t travel. So, we used to sneak around.”

He says they managed to keep their relationship secret for the first few months and then “the explosion happened”.

Beckham’s teammate and close friend Gary Neville jokes on Beckham about the pair’s long phone calls into the early hours before a game, and says Beckham would drive for four hours just to spend 20 minutes with her.

Parts three and four of the series were not available for review before this interview, but those episodes explore his explosive fallout with Ferguson, his sale to Real Madrid and tabloid allegations of Beckham’s extramarital affairs.

“There are pressures, but you work hard,” Beckham says of his marriage. And despite press speculation, the couple recently celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary and remain a united force.

“I suppose that’s one of the reasons we’re so, so strong as a couple, because, yes, we have amazing kids, we have amazing careers, but we … make time for each other as well.”

Beckham’s career spread far beyond his success as a player, to cultural icon and entrepreneur. He was a trailblazer for collaborations with brands like Adidas, Armani, Breitling and more.

While players were not really doing similar deals at the time, he says it felt like a natural progression enabled by his success on the football pitch.

He knew early on that “Brand Beckham” would broaden and lengthen his career if he could achieve a good balance.

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“I always made sure that whatever I was doing off the field never affected what I was doing on the field because that was what I loved and what was important to me.”

His business savvy culminated in ownership of his own football team, Inter Miami.

“I had the opportunity to play in different countries, move to America, obviously have my own franchise and my own team, become an owner,” he says.

“So then once I finished playing, I knew that the moment I finished playing, I could then jump into the business. But we were working on that a long time before that.”

Looking back on his career’s highs and lows, it’s natural to wonder: does Beckham have regrets?

“Do I wish things hadn’t happened? Absolutely. Do I wish ’98 hadn’t happened? Absolutely.”

But he says he realised it all happened for a reason.

“It made me stronger as a person, as a player, as a human being, and as a father, as a husband,” he says. “And if that hadn’t have happened, maybe I wouldn’t have had the career that I had.”