David Beckham opens up on 'painful' Manchester United reality as true feelings revealed

David Beckham has confessed that it's a bitter pill to swallow seeing a Champions League season without Manchester United, but he remains hopeful about his former club's return to Europe's prestigious competition.

The United legend, Beckham was a key player in the United team that won the competition in 1999, and the 13-time Premier League champions were regular fixtures in the Champions League during Sir Alex Ferguson's reign. However, this hasn't been the case over the past decade, and last season's eighth-place league finish confirmed they won't be participating in the restructured 36-team tournament this year.

On Tuesday, while rivals Liverpool were defeating AC Milan at the San Siro, United were playing Barnsley in the Carabao Cup. Erik ten Hag's squad are still in Europe this season due to their FA Cup victory, but they kick off their Europa League journey against Twente on September 25.

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Despite the disappointment, Beckham could still see one of his former clubs win this season's Champions League, having also played for Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Nonetheless, there's a sense of melancholy about United's decline, with the club only making it to one Champions League quarter-final in the past decade.

"It is a little bit painful not seeing United there, but they're going through something," Beckham commented during CBS' Champions League coverage. "We're too big to not to be back on this stage. So at some point, we have to be.

"I always look forward to the Champions League season," he said. "I was lucky enough to play in the competition with different teams and win it. I always follow the teams that I played for over the years but I watch all the games. It's the biggest and best competition."

Two of his old teams kicked off their European campaigns with wins, although Milan didn't manage a victory. PSG snatched a last-minute win against Girona, while Madrid defeated Stuttgart with two late goals.

Beckham believes Real Madrid will only get better as new star Kylian Mbappe settles in. "It's going to take him time to figure out the balance but I'm excited to see Real Madrid this season," he added. "Once they come together I think it's going to be incredible."

In Tuesday's match at the Bernabeu, Madrid and Stuttgart were tied until the final 10 minutes when Mbappe, who had scored earlier, watched Antonio Rudiger score against his old team, followed by Endrick sealing the deal with a third goal during stoppage time.

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