Gary Neville sends heartfelt message to David Beckham after knighthood, ‘take time to…’

Gary Neville was unsurprisingly among the first to congratulate David Beckham on receiving his knighthood after giving years of service to football and charities.

David Beckham enjoyed an incredible career at Manchester United before he left Old Trafford to fulfil a lifelong dream of playing for Real Madrid.

Aged 50, Beckham can reflect fondly on his playing career, having also represented England as captain, LA Galaxy, AC Milan (twice on loan) and Paris Saint-Germain before hanging up his boots.

Beckham was a key member of United’s Treble-winning side in 1999, earning the Man-of-the-Match award in the Champions League final win over Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp.

Before leaving for Madrid in 2003, Beckham made 394 appearances for United, scoring 85 goals.

Photo by CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Gary Neville congratulates David Beckham on his knighthood

After coming through United’s youth academy in the 1990s, Beckham still has plenty of friends at the club, including former teammates.

Beckham’s best mate at United was always Gary Neville, as the pair would often room together when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had to travel before games.

And, to this day, Beckham and Neville remain very close friends as well as business partners given their involvement in Salford City.

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Neville was quick to congratulate Beckham on his knighthood as he posted a picture of his close friend on Instagram, along with the caption: “Congratulations mate. You deserve it and I’m so happy for you.

“Take time to reflect on everything you’ve done in an incredible 50 years!”

Beckham career stats

It has been 12 years since Beckham announced his retirement, but the football world will never forget his brilliance on the pitch.

All you need to do is look at the clubs Beckham played for throughout his career – mostly notably United and Real Madrid – but he also captained his country and earned 155 England caps.

However, domestically, Beckham won titles in multiple countries.

Club Games Goals Assists Manchester United 394 85 121 Real Madrid 159 20 51 LA Galaxy 124 20 42 AC Milan 33 2 9 Paris Saint Germain 14 0 2 David Beckham stats by club

There’s no denying Beckham enjoyed an incredible career. He can now enjoy retirement as a Sir.

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