David Beckham has worked his way through a plethora of hairstyles during his time in the public eye.

From a mohawk, to ponytails, buzzcuts and bleached blonde hair, he’s never been afraid to experiment.

However, the former footballer, 48, has revealed the only one he regrets – his cornrows which he wore ahead of a meeting with Nelson Mandela in 2003.

The sportsman decided to get them done while on holiday in France but regretted his decision when he met the late South African politician, admitting it would today be described as ‘cultural appropriation’.

According to The Sun, he explained: ‘We were there with family and one of Victoria’s friends who is a hairdresser.

‘I asked if she could do something with my hair and she said, “Do you want cornrows?” and I said, “Yeah. I don’t know what they are. But yeah”. It was painful having them done but I liked them.

‘People ask if I have any regrets about my hairstyles and while I don’t regret any of them, I do sort of regret the cornrows.

‘I had them put in on the Saturday and on the Monday I flew to South Africa with the England team for a match.

‘I got to meet the greet Nelson Mandela. And the picture that I’ve got of Nelson Mandela is me holding his hand with cornrows in my hair. That’s my only regret.’

Meanwhile, David spoke out about being proud of his Jewish roots, with his maternal grandfather Joseph following the religion.

David said he was a proud member of the Jewish community in North London and ensured his family were aware of their history.

Speaking at a synagogue in London for the Lira Winston Fellowships, he said: ‘My grandfather always made sure we would keep up with certain traditions,.

‘Every Saturday morning I used to go and see them, and my grandmother would be preparing the chicken soup and matzo balls and latkes. It was always about the family coming together.’

Meanwhile, David spoke of the impact his infamous red card at the 1998 World Cup had on him and his family.

The England legend was sent off in England’s quarter-final clash with Argentina after kicking out at Diego Simeone following a tackle by the midfielder on the young Three Lions star.

The incident happened right in front of referee Kim Milton and it left the Danish official with no option but to show Beckham the red card, and England went on to exit the tournament after a penalty shootout defeat.

David suffered a huge backlash on his return home and was vilified by the media, while an effigy of him was hung from a London pub and he would go on to face a barrage of abuse at every away game the following season.

‘It was tough, but it was tougher for my family than me,’ he said.

‘I’m trying not to get emotional, but that was what worried me more than anything else.

‘I remember my granddad calling me and saying, ‘David, I’ve got people knocking on the door saying you’ve let the whole country down and let your whole family down, what shall I say?

‘I couldn’t drive around London. I couldn’t walk around London. I couldn’t go to restaurants. I couldn’t go to bars. Even my friends didn’t want to go out with me.

‘They knew I would get abused. If I stopped at traffic lights, people would hit, or spit at, my car.

‘Those kinds of things were happening to me, daily, for quite a few years.’