Beckham: ‘I’d love them to play soccer, but I want them to be happy doing it’

David Beckham has said he was heartbroken to discover that his son no longer wants to be a footballer because of the pressure of his father’s legacy.

The former footballer has said that one of his young sons told him they no longer want to follow in his footsteps.

Victoria and David Beckham have three sons and one daughter – 16-year-old Brooklyn, 13-year-old Romeo, 10-year-old Cruz and 4-year-old Harper.

Beckham told ABC News that he would love for his children to play football professionally when they grow up, but only if it made them happy.

“One of my boys turned around to me the other day and said, ‘Daddy, you know, I’m not sure I want to play football all the time…’ It broke my heart a little bit,” Beckham said.

He said that his son told him: “Every time that I step onto the field, I know people are saying, ‘This is David Beckham’s son’, and if I’m not as good as you, then it’s not good enough.”

“I said, ‘Okay, stop right there… You play because you want to play,’” Beckham said.

The Beckhams’ eldest son Brooklyn was recently on the cover of Miss Vogue. The teenager has over 4 million followers on Instagram but his parents say that they still check every post before he shares them.

“I was so proud,” Victoria Beckham said. “I mean imagine, my baby, on the cover of Vogue.”

Victoria Beckham also spoke about the interest of her youngest child, Harper: “She loves fashion as all little girls do, she loves putting makeup on and playing with my shoes,” she said. “But she loves sports. She’s a little tomboy because obviously she has three brothers.”