Editing David Beckham (section)

====2002–2003: Boot incident and United exit====
Following an injury early in the [[2002–03 in English football|2002–03 season]], Beckham was unable to regain his place on the Manchester United team, with [[Ole Gunnar Solskjær]] having replaced him on the right side of midfield. His relationship with his manager deteriorated further on 15 February 2003 when, in the changing room following an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, a furious Alex Ferguson threw or kicked a [[Football boot|boot]] that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/2778985.stm|title=Man Utd play down Arsenal rift|date=19 February 2003|work=BBC Sport|access-date=27 August 2009|archive-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029001621/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/2778985.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/04/28/1234261/silvestre-reminisces-about-fergusons-infamous-boot-throwing-at-be |title=Silvestre Reminisces About Ferguson's Infamous Boot-Throwing at Beckham Incident |publisher=Goal.com |date=28 April 2009 |access-date=10 June 2012 |archive-date=2 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002172417/http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/04/28/1234261/silvestre-reminisces-about-fergusons-infamous-boot-throwing-at-be |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/article.html?Revealed:_What_happened_when_Beckham_was_hit_by_a_boot_in_the_face&in_article_id=638192&in_page_id=43 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120903220624/http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/article.html?Revealed:_What_happened_when_Beckham_was_hit_by_a_boot_in_the_face&in_article_id=638192&in_page_id=43 |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 September 2012 |title=Revealed: What happened when Beckham was hit by a boot in the face |work=Metro |date=28 April 2009 |access-date=10 June 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bodinger |first=Katie |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/07/29/why-ryan-giggs-is-more-scared-of-his-mum-than-fergie-91466-21423456/ |title=Why Ryan Giggs is more scared of his mum than Fergie |work=WalesOnline |access-date=10 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013212846/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/07/29/why-ryan-giggs-is-more-scared-of-his-mum-than-fergie-91466-21423456/ |archive-date=13 October 2012 |date=28 July 2008 }}</ref> The incident led to a great deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with [[bookmaker]]s offering odds on whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club.<ref>{{cite news |title=Will Becks give Man Utd the boot? |work=BBC Sport |date=18 February 2003 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/2775269.stm |access-date=6 October 2005 |first=Stuart |last=Roach |archive-date=31 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060531050325/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/2775269.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the team had started the season badly, their results improved greatly from December onwards and they won the league, with Beckham managing a total of eleven goals. He was still a first-choice player for England, however, and in the [[Queen's Birthday Honours List]] he was appointed an [[Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|OBE]] for services to football on 13 June 2003.<ref name="OBE" />

Beckham had made 265 Premier league appearances for United and scored 62 goals.<ref name="PL stats">{{cite news |title=David Beckham profile |url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/331/David-Beckham/overview |access-date=14 October 2020 |publisher=Premier League |archive-date=15 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415212720/https://www.premierleague.com/players/331/David-Beckham/overview |url-status=live }}</ref> He also made 81 Champions league appearances, scoring 15 goals. Beckham won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, two FA Charity Shields, one [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]], one Intercontinental Cup and one FA Youth Cup in the space of twelve years.<ref name="United profile"/> By this stage, he was their joint second longest serving player behind [[Ryan Giggs]] (having joined them at the same time as [[Nicky Butt]], [[Gary Neville]] and [[Paul Scholes]]).