David Beckham completed a remarkable challenge of playing seven football matches on seven continents in the space of nine days in aid of UNICEF, the children’s charity.
It includes games in Papua New Guinea, foothills of Nepal, streets of Buenos Aires, desert plains of Djibouti and on the high level pitches of Miami and rounded off at his beloved Old Trafford.
Manchester United staged the showpiece finale as Beckham’s Great Britain & Ireland side, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson, beat Carlo Ancelotti’s Rest of the World 3-1 to raise a “substantial seven figure sum” for UNICEF.
And it was a homecoming to remember for Beckham in front of a sell-out 75,381 crowd and he even got to play alongside his 16-year-old son Brooklyn for the dying minutes.
Beckham said: “It was amazing and does not get any better than having a full house and raising money for a great cause. It was always going to be special.
“It has been a long journey playing seven games in seven days – actually we couldn’t do it is seven so it was nine – on seven continents.
“We achieved what we wanted to achieve and shone a light and raised money for great causes around the world.
“And a big thank you to all the fans because, without their support, it would have been difficult to raise so much money. It was an incredible day.”
Beckham added it was amazing having assembled the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Luis Figo, Ronaldinho and Cafu and to be on the same pitch as those legends.
He added it was great to be reunited with the Class of 92 and play alongside Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville – Gary was away with England in Spain – for possibly one last time.
Beckham added that it was special that son Brooklyn was involved in the game.
He said: “One of my lasting memories was winning the Premier League and carrying Brooklyn, who was then 18 months of age, around the pitch on my shoulders.
“Brooklyn is now 16 and it would be difficult to get him on my shoulders now. It was special for him to be involved and I was delighted the manager (Sir Alex Ferguson) agreed.
“I didn’t expect to go back on, but Sol Campbell was injured and it was amazing to be out on the pitch with him.”
Beckham added that there had been a slight concern about the game going ahead due to the terrorist attack in Paris adding that is why Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Maxwell pulled out because of their French connections.
But by going ahead, he declared, it showed the power of the game.
He added his thoughts were with the people of Paris saying it has a special place in his heart as he finished his playing career at PSG and also won his 100th England cap against France at Stade de France.
He said: “The support of the French fans, who gave me a standing ovation that night, was great while PSG won their first title in 19 years while I was there.
“It is sad to see what has happened and, unfortunately, these things are happening all around the world.”