Our supporters club is very very close to Manchester United of the time. SAF was a regular and so were players like the Nevilles and Beckham. These players came in Malta as kids on a holiday (basically living in the house of some local supporters) and had therefore built a good relationship with the club and the country. I met the gaffer, Beckham and the Nevilles a number of times and I shared multiple pints with Ted Beckham and Neville Neville.
To better understand what happened with Beckham one needs to go back to SAF's first successful side.. That team had everything, class, grit and was in its prime. Yet in 1995 something bad happened. Kanchelskis and Ince acted out in a manner that the gaffer couldn't ignore and SAF was an inch away from losing the dressing room. You'll might find this a bit of an exaggeration but back in the day SAF was nowhere near to the untouchable legend he was today. Also Kanchelskis and Ince were WC players, the former was one of the very few players I saw Maldini struggle against and the latter was, in my opinion, the best pure DM we had throughout SAF's reign (Keane was not a pure DM). The media went ballistic, Hansen thought SAF lost it and quite frankly many agreed with him. That was a baptism of fire for SAF and till the end of his career he kept his eyes open and will often get rid of a star at the first sign of an insurrection (RVN for example)
Beckham was one of the class of 92 whom together with the likes of Keane, Cantona, Irwin and Schmeichel bailed SAF out. Ted and Neville were obsessed with football and they raised their kids in an almost Spartan way were everything rotated around the sport. Beckham absorbed that passion like a sponge. He was so obsessed with United that he would go on trials at other clubs with the United shirt on. Beckham had talent of course but most what you see on the pitch was pure hard work. The guy lived of football.
The Victoria Adams came in. The lass might not be talented in music but she was brilliant financially wise. I can assure you that she's the brains behind the Beckhams. Beckham fell head over heels to her. The sort were he would lock himself in the bathroom so he keep speaking to her on the phone while the Nevilles were out swearing at him because they were running late to a meeting with fans, type of obsession. SAF saw the celebrity couple status as a threat and as a betrayal from Beckham's part especially when he started asking for media rights, something good old Dave wouldn't even know it existed. SAF knew how close knit the class of 92 was, he perceived that as a threat and viola Beckham was out.
However let's be clear here. Beckham loved Manchester United, he sweated blood for the club and he always gave his 100%. You won't find Beckham jogging on the pitch as Rashy. That's for sure.