During his playing days, David Beckham was one of the biggest soccer stars in the world. Evidently, the extremely talented winger spent the prime years of his career in Europe. However, in 2007, Beckham shockingly joined the Major League Soccer side, the Los Angeles Galaxy.
While it became huge news for soccer fans in the United States, there were some unhappy with Beckham’s move to Hollywood. Among them was none other than Uncharted star Mark Wahlberg.
Mark Wahlberg Was Frustrated With the Attention That David Beckham Brought with Him
Soccer is arguably the most popular sport in the world. But in the United States, sports like basketball, baseball, and football are more popular than soccer. Despite that, David Beckham became instantly popular in the USA.
Keeping that in mind, Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg was extremely upset when paparazzi started showing up near his home day in and out. After all, Wahlberg lived close to where Beckham resided. Wahlberg shared his frustration in a 2009 interview with the Daily Mail.
Man, the Beckhams. It used to be so quiet on my road. Then David moves in with his family. Suddenly we’ve got paparazzi hanging out day and night. Now they’ll follow any car that drives down the road. I take strong exception to that kind of thing. When I take my kids to the park I don’t want strangers sticking their lenses into our faces.
From Wahlberg’s point of view, it’s certainly not wrong to wish for some privacy around his home. After all, no parent wants their children’s picture to go viral on the internet due to the paparazzi.
Wahlberg further pointed out that it’s uncommon to see people with cameras follow around stars from where he is from. Keeping that in mind, it’s no surprise that it led to an unexpected beef between Beckham and Wahlberg.
Mark Wahlberg Urged David Beckham to Pack His Bags
The Ted actor was well and truly fed up with the amount of attraction his neighborhood was getting. As a result, Wahlberg urged Beckham to pack his bags and pointed out that no one wants his soccer in the United States.
‘Im not telling Beckham to take his family home. I’m just not sure why he came to America in the first place. Man, we don’t want your soccer. There’s no way Americans are going to buy the idea of 90 minutes of running around without much happening. Thanks for trying guys, but we’ll stick to baseball and basketball.
At the time, soccer was barely popular in the United States. However, the unlikely move by Beckham brought a wave of affection for soccer in America. Moreover, many star players followed in Beckham’s footsteps to spend the final years of their soccer career in America.
Most recently, eighth-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi joined the MLS. Messi is currently showcasing his immense talent to fans while donning an Inter Miami jersey.
Considering Messi is unarguably one of the biggest soccer players in the world, it is bound to bring a lot of fan-following for the sport in America.
