Sir Alex says Beckham 'stage-managed' eye injury after kicking boot at his head

Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed David Beckham 'stage-managed' his eye injury after his infamously kicked a boot at the ex-England captain in 2003.

The pair were engulfed in a row after Man United's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Arsenal in the 2002-03 campaign - which they lost 2-0 - with Beckham earning the wrath of his boss following a dressing room inquest.

Ferguson then launched a boot at Beckham, with the midfielder later seen sporting an eye injury in training - but Ferguson claimed it 'wasn't worth a stitch' as he downplayed the incident.

Speaking on Beckham's Netflix documentary, Ferguson recalled: 'I kicked the boot at his head. I mean, honestly, it was an absolute freak.'

Asked about the pictures showing Beckham's injury, he added: 'Yeah I'm not going to talk about that. The only thing I will say is that I think that was stage managed. It wasn't even worth a stitch.'

Beckham remembers seeing his 'fuming' boss in the dressing room and revealed he had swore at his boss to further enrage him on top of the result - leading to the boot being launched at him.

'We walked in the changing room and the boss is fuming. I can see it by his face,' the former Real Madrid and LA Galaxy man said.

'And when you see the boss's face like this, you don't want to be anywhere near him. It is a face that no one can do, trust me.'

After claiming the coach was 'effing and blinding', he added: 'I went back at the boss and said "no" and then I swore. I said the f- word. And then I saw him change, and I was like, "s***, I really shouldn't have said that". I think I said the f-word too many times.'

Beckham also spoke of his heartache at having to leave United for Real Madrid the following season - saying he pleaded to stay at Old Trafford.

He said he asked 'Can I speak to the boss?' before being told, 'No, he doesn’t want to talk to you.'

Beckham added: 'And I said, "I need to speak to the boss, I need to know this is really what he wants" and I pleaded to not go. I couldn’t get in contact with the boss. Did I ever want to leave Man United? No, never.

'It was my home. My relationship with the boss was always special. We had our moments, but I still loved him.'

Ferguson said their relationship 'was at a stalemate'.

'There was not going to be any point in me saying to David, "I’m selling you",' he added. The decision was made, it was better he went. He didn’t need to go. He could have stayed if he wanted. I think he knew it was the right time.'

In the same documentary, it was also revealed that Beckham's relationship with then-Spice Girls singer Victoria Beckham added tension to his relationship with Ferguson.

Former team-mate Paul Scholes said: 'His relationship with Victoria was p***ing the manager off. He thought it was affecting his football.'

Meanwhile, fellow Red Devils icon Paul Ince revealed how Ferguson used to do background checks on his players' love lives, eager for them to be in 'stable' relationships.

'Sir Alex liked you to be stable. He looked at your background. Didn't want you to be out partying every night,' Ince said.

When asked about their relationship, Ferguson admitted: 'He changed, there's no doubt about that - and all the media and celebrity attention was different from what I wanted.'