NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal admitted that he tried to play a practical joke on Inter Miami co-owner and Manchester United legend David Beckham after finding his wallet in Los Angeles

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal once told the story of how he found David Beckham’s wallet while walking around Los Angeles.

O’Neal is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. The former centre won four NBA titles across his professional career, including three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat.

Beckham first moved to the United States in 2007 when he joined LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer from Real Madrid. The Manchester United legend has since gone on to become the co-owner of Inter Miami, where he was one of the driving forces behind the deals to sign the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and most recently, Luis Suarez.

In August last year, O’Neal appeared as a guest on ‘The Late Late Show with James Corden’, where he recalled a story on how he once found Beckham’s wallet while in Beverley Hills, Los Angeles. O’Neal, who was joined on the sofa by Beckham’s wife, Victoria, explained how he tried to play a practical joke on Beckham after realising who the wallet belonged to.

“I was walking one day in Beverly Hills and I found a wallet,” said O’Neal. “Usually when I find wallets I just take all the money out and I just throw them, but this was a nice wallet.

Shaquille O’Neal explained how he once found David Beckham’s wallet while in Los Angeles (
Image: Ethan Miller – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

“So I looked and it said, David Beckham. I was like ‘It can’t be’, and I looked at the ID and it was David Beckham. I didn’t want to just give it to the front desk, so I tracked him down.

“First I played a joke, I was like ‘I have your wallet, it’s going to cost you a million dollars to get it back’ but he knew it was me. [Beckham said] ‘Shaq, stop playing’. I was like ‘Dave, I found your wallet'”

“The funny thing is he [Beckham] said ‘There was some money in this wallet, you know what happened?’ And I was like ‘nope’.”

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O’Neal retired from the NBA in 2012 after having a career that saw him play for the Lakers, Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, and the Boston Celtics. He won the league MVP in 2000 and was named an All-Star 15 times across his illustrious career.

Beckham announced his retirement from professional football in 2013 after spending the second half of the 2012/13 season with Paris Saint-Germain. The midfielder finished his career with 127 goals and 225 assists in 724 appearances for clubs including Man United, PSG, LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Real Madrid.

As well as Inter Miami, Beckham is also part of the ownership of League Two club Salford City. He is joined by his former Man United teammates Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes as co-owners, while businessman Peter Lim is the majority owner.