Beckham hapyy that social media wasn't around back in 1998

The former England star became one of the most hated men in the country after kicking out at Diego Simeone in the round of 16 loss to Argentina

David Beckham has spoken about the importance of being open about your mental state after recalling the vilification he went through after the 1998 World Cup.

England were eliminated at the last-16 stage by Argentina, after Beckham was sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone after being fouled by the now-Athletico Madrid manager.

Beckham turned from media darling to one of the most hated men in England. He received death threats, an image of a Beckham effigy hanging outside a pub found infamy, while the Mirror’s headline of ’10 Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy’ was followed by a David Beckham dartboard.

“I made a mistake in ‘98 and the reaction at the time was pretty brutal,” Beckham said as part of the ‘Mentally Healthy Football’ declaration from the Heads Up campaign.

“If social media was around when I was going through that time, it would have been a whole different story, but I was lucky, I had a support system within Manchester United, the manager, and obviously family.