David Beckham reveals secret of his success: I 'stayed in to watch Match of the Day' rather than go out with friends on a Saturday night

Beckham says dedication and sacrifice the key

(adidas)

Former England captain David Beckham has revealed that as a boy he used to stay in and "watch Match of the Day" instead of go out with his mates on a Saturday night.

Beckham, 40, is the most-capped outfield player in England's history and helped Manchester United and Real Madrid to seven titles in a storied career.

But speaking to adidas Gamedayplus, Beckham revealed that it was the "sacrifices" and "dedication" he made as a youngster that led him to success.

"People measure success with, in my field, by trophies, medals, by the success that I’ve had over my career," said Beckham.

Beckham during his Manchester United days (Getty Images)

"Personally I measure success by 'have I had a good time, have I had fun, have I reached the goals that I wanted to reach that I had when I was eight, nine-years-old'.

"I wanted to captain my country, I wanted to represent my country in a world cup, I wanted to win the fa cup, luckily I achieved all those dreams."

He added: "But when I sit with kids and they turn round and say how can we be professional footballers the one thing I always say to them is, 'you have to enjoy yourself, you have to have fun playing football if you want to be a footballer.

"'More importantly you have to be dedicated you have to make sacrifices', that’s one of the most important things for me.

"As a young kid living in London, you have friends going out on a Friday night. But I made the sacrifice of staying in watching Match of the Day on a Saturday evening and when I had a game on Sunday I went to bed early."