David Beckham had his favourite shirt number taken off him by Sir Alex Ferguson, it's not No.7

David Beckham has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson took his favourite shirt number away from him during his time at Manchester United.

Beckham wore the iconic number seven shirt throughout much of his Old Trafford career, continuing the legacy left behind by the likes of George Best, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona.

In fact, when you mention the number seven shirt now, most United fans will probably namedrop Beckham in the conversation.

He inherited the shirt shortly after Cantona's retirement from football, and kept it until he departed Old Trafford in 2003.

But what some may not know is that Beckham had actually worn the number 10 shirt during the previous 1996/97 campaign, after Mark Hughes left the club.

That was the season when he scored his infamous goal from the halfway line on the opening day against Wimbledon.

After Cantona's departure, Ferguson brought in Teddy Sheringham as his direct replacement - and handed him Beckham's number 10 shirt.

Speaking to Classic Football Shirts, Beckham revealed that he reluctantly gave up his favourite number.

He explained: "It was amazing because one of the players I always looked up to was Mark Hughes.

“It was amazing because one of the players I always looked up to was Mark Hughes. So for me to wear the number 10 was very special.

"I remember being on holiday in Malta and my phone was ringing. We just signed Teddy Sheringham, and it was, 'Hi, it's the boss.'

"I was like, 'Okay boss, this is something different.' He said: 'We're signing Teddy Sheringham, we're taking the number 10.'

"And I was like, 'No boss, I had a great season in this number 10'. 'Nope, doesn't matter. See you in a few weeks, David.'

"That was it. The number 10 got taken off of me in one of the best seasons I'd ever had."

Thankfully for Beckham, though, he breathed a sigh of relief once he found out he was receiving the number seven shirt. And he didn't do too badly whilst wearing it.

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