Teary Beckham gets grand send-off in last game

David Beckham hugged his teammates with tears in his eyes, then walked off the pitch to a standing ovation - for the last time in front of a home crowd at a football game.

A clearly emotional Beckham was mobbed by his teammates on the field when coach Carlo Ancelotti decided to substitute him in the 81st minute of a 3-1 win over Brest on Saturday, giving him a customary sendoff in his last home game before retiring.

“To end my career in front of a crowd like that, with players like that, it’s very special,” Beckham said, adding that emotions had already started overpowering him before he was taken off.

“It started about 20 minutes before that, to be honest. I started thinking and then, you know, I couldn’t concentrate by then, and it was difficult,” he said. “You know, you try to hold the emotion back because it is what it is, but it’s difficult.”

- france24.com