David Beckham has revealed that he wanted to stay at Real Madrid for another three seasons and regretted choosing to move to Major League Soccer towards the end of last season.
The England midfielder opted to join Los Angeles Galaxy after he was told that Madrid did not want to renew his contract in January.
After an impressive second half to the campaign, coach Fabio Capello and president Ramon Calderon, both stated that they had made a mistake in allowing Beckham to leave.
"I felt capable of staying for longer at Real Madrid," the former Manchester United star told Diario de Noticias.
"I think I could have still played for three more seasons at the highest level, but as the club told me in January that they did not want to renew my contract I took this decision."
Beckham admits that he felt regret the day that Real Maded beat Mallorca to win the league title for the first time in four years, but has vowed to follow the club's fortunes from afar.
"That day my heart ached, but the decision was already taken," he continued.
"I am going to continue to support Real Madrid and follow them next season."
Reflecting on the sudden turnaround in the team's fortunes in the final three months of the season, Beckham believes that it was because the media had written off their chances.
"Nobody backed us and that removed a lot of the pressure. We were able to work better," he said.
With the league title being his only major title in four seasons at the Bernabeu, Beckham believes that the instability at the club spoiled his chances of adding more silverware to his collection.
"There were too many changes," he added. "Three presidents and six coaches is too much. "The players never stopped trying and we were the least guilty in all this."
The England midfielder opted to join Los Angeles Galaxy after he was told that Madrid did not want to renew his contract in January.
After an impressive second half to the campaign, coach Fabio Capello and president Ramon Calderon, both stated that they had made a mistake in allowing Beckham to leave.
"I felt capable of staying for longer at Real Madrid," the former Manchester United star told Diario de Noticias.
"I think I could have still played for three more seasons at the highest level, but as the club told me in January that they did not want to renew my contract I took this decision."
Beckham admits that he felt regret the day that Real Maded beat Mallorca to win the league title for the first time in four years, but has vowed to follow the club's fortunes from afar.
"That day my heart ached, but the decision was already taken," he continued.
"I am going to continue to support Real Madrid and follow them next season."
Reflecting on the sudden turnaround in the team's fortunes in the final three months of the season, Beckham believes that it was because the media had written off their chances.
"Nobody backed us and that removed a lot of the pressure. We were able to work better," he said.
With the league title being his only major title in four seasons at the Bernabeu, Beckham believes that the instability at the club spoiled his chances of adding more silverware to his collection.
"There were too many changes," he added. "Three presidents and six coaches is too much. "The players never stopped trying and we were the least guilty in all this."
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