David Beckham’s all-time five-a-side team includes just one Man Utd legend

David Beckham has revealed his ultimate five-a-side team and the star-studded lineup includes just one of his former Manchester United teammates. The England legend played for some of the world’s biggest clubs, which forced him to overlook many United icons.

As Sir Alex Ferguson’s team dominated the early years of the Premier League, Beckham emerged as a key player for United and helped steer the club to their historic treble before joining Real Madrid in 2003. A perfect signing for Los Blancos in the Galacticos era, Real Madrid made it their mission to collect the world’s most exciting players. Beckham would later continue to display his quality at AC Milan and PSG.

This gave the 49-year-old an embarrassment of riches when asked to name his dream five-a-side team on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. The tough team selection saw Beckham choose Roy Keane as the only United legend in his lineup, snubbing a long list of club heroes.

“Okay, I would have to say Roberto Carlos because he can play in defence and attack,” Beckham told Ferdinand. “He used to play more attack than defence, to be fair. And then I would have to say [Paolo] Maldini.

“And then I would say Zizou [Zinedine Zidane]. He’s one of the, not just one of the greatest players that I’ve ever played with, one of the hardest trainers, and also just cool. He’s just cool, you know, without trying.” He continued: “You play him a ball anywhere on the pitch, any height, any level, any speed, he’d bring it down like it was just one of those things that he does.

“The next one would have to be one of the greatest and most natural goal-scorers that I have ever, ever seen, Ronaldo (Nazario).” The former England captain saved his final pick for his ex-United skipper Roy Keane.

“Oh my goodness, my last one. I’m gonna say Keaney,” Beckham said. “You know, you need a leader and you need someone that’s gonna actually tackle and fight and be the player that he is, so I’m gonna have to say Keaney.

“You know what, he took no day off, and I don’t mean in the physical sense of having a day off. I mean, every single day that he stepped on that training pitch, he wanted to win. Whether it was at the keep ball game or the heading game, he inspired us every single day because he came in with that mentality and we all knew that’s what we have to cope with.

“That’s the level that we have to reach and that’s why Keaney was who he was because he was a winner and he was hungry and he always wanted to win.”

Despite not naming a goalkeeper – which would likely have been a toss-up between Peter Schmeichel and Iker Casillas – Beckham’s team boasts some of the finest players of his era. However, several of his United colleagues were unlucky to miss out.

Beckham shared more games with Gary Neville than any other player, creating a formidable partnership down the right flank. He also played alongside club legends Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs numerous times, while the likes of Jaap Stam and Eric Cantona were also overlooked.

Listen to the full Rio Meets Becks interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.