David Beckham choked back tears as he spoke candidly about his life and career in a new Netflix docu-series that reflects on his three decades in the spotlight.

The sportsman, 48, burst into the limelight at the tender age of 17 as Manchester United’s budding new midfielder, quickly earning himself the reputation as football’s golden boy and one of the most talented players of his generation.

Yet his career threatened to be derailed when he was blamed for England’s World Cup 1998 exit after lashing out at Diego Simeone, sparking a lengthy campaign of hate and abuse from fans.

Reflecting on the turbulent period, which David faced at the age of just 23, the athlete confessed he was a ‘mess’ and left unable to eat or sleep, with his wife Victoria, 49, revealing he suffered from clinical depression and the experience ‘broke’ him.

David recalled feeling ‘very vulnerable and alone’ as he landed back in the UK to hordes of jeering spectators and negative press, with his father Ted admitting David was ‘distraught’ when he met him, saying the young sports star ‘fell into my arms and said, “I’ve left everybody down.”‘

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Heartbreaking: David Beckham choked back tears as he spoke candidly about his life and career in a new Netflix docu-series that reflects on his three decades in the spotlight

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Cute couple: The documentary also featured footage from his wedding to Victoria, where their guests were made to wear black and white while he and Victoria donned garish purple outfits

The night before the World Cup game, David had learnt that Victoria was pregnant with their first child and after touching down in England to see his parents he wasted no time jetting off to New York to spend time with his expectant fiancée – who was touring the States with The Spice Girls.

Victoria confessed: ‘I remember not really understanding how serious it was because you know I’ve never really been into football.

‘When he came to me in America he felt he let himself down, he let his teammates down, he let his country down, he let the fans down, me – he felt he let everybody down.

‘But when he was with us Spice Girls there was protection, people couldn’t get to us, we could put a cotton wool around us.

‘I don’t think either of us really realised what was going on in the UK. He went from having that protection into absolute carnage.’

Growing emotional as he reflected on the backlash he received, David confessed: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it because I can’t.

‘I find it hard to talk about what I went through because it was so extreme. The whole country hated me.’

Detailing the horrific abuse – which became so bad that he was unable to visit the toilet unattended for fear of being attacked on the way – David continued: ‘Wherever I went, I got abused every day.

‘To walk down the street and see people look at you a certain way, spit at you, abuse you, come up to your face and say some of the things that they said, that’s difficult.

‘I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping, I was a mess.’

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Struggle: David’s career threatened to be derailed when he was blamed for England’s World Cup 1998 exit and reflecting on the turbulent period the athlete confessed he was a ‘mess’

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By his side: David was supported by Victoria who he met when she attended a Manchester United game with bandmate Melanie C

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Cute couple: David and Victoria were all over each other in the early stages of their romance

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Number one fan: Victoria may not have enjoyed football but she ensured she turned out to support her husband when he was playing