David Beckham Explains How Sir Alex Ferguson Made Him Shave Off Mohawk In Dressing Room Toilets

Sir Alex Ferguson was renowned for his no-nonsense approach to management, bringing out the famous 'hairdryer treatment' on a number of occasions throughout his 26 year spell at Old Trafford.

It was a "I'll respect you and you will respect me" kind of culture at Manchester United, so when a player stepped out of line, or did something that the boss disagreed with, they soon knew about it.

Ferguson, as a result of his high standards, fell out with a number of players, including the likes of Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Ince, to name just a few.

But perhaps the most famous example of them all was David Beckham, whose relationship with the boss was arguably the most difficult.

*Cough* flying boot incident *Cough*

Beckham admitted that he made mistakes during his time at Old Trafford, which led to a breakdown in relations with Sir Alex.

And a story involving a Mohawk hairstyle in 2001 has left me day-dreaming about this incredible turn of events.

I'll let the man himself describe what really happened:

"I walked in the changing room and he hadn't seen it because I was too scared to even show him." Beckham said in a recent interview with Otro.

"I'd gone into training the day before with a beanie on, trained in a beanie, gone back, walked in the hotel, had a beanie on, had dinner, beanie on, breakfast beanie on, bus on way to stadium - beanie.

"Then as I got ready for the game I took it off, he said 'go and shave it off'.

"I giggled and he was like 'no, I'm serious. Go and shave it off'. So I had to find a pair of clippers and I shaved it off in Wembley Stadium. Manager always rules."

Can you imagine that kind of thing happened today? Beckham certainly can't:

"It's a lot more normal to do it these days, it's a lot more normal to have a mohawk or a tattoo on your neck or wear coloured boots." he said.

"When we were growing up the manager wouldn't let us even step on a pitch wearing a pair of red boots or a pair of white boots. Simple as that.

"Things like that have definitely changed."

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Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_