The sporting legend choked back tears as he reflected on the turbulent period following England’s 1998 World Cup exit, when he was red-carded in a game against Argentina for kicking Diego Simeone.

“I don’t think I’ve ever talked about it, just because I can’t,” he confessed in the docuseries.

“I find it hard to talk through what I went through because it was so extreme.

“Wherever I went, I got abused every single day.

“To walk down the street and to see people look at you in a certain way, spit at you, abuse you, come up to your face and say some of the things they said, that is difficult.

“I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping … It took a toll on me that I never even knew myself.”

Footage of Beckham discussing the impact the event had on him is interspersed with clips of the abuse he experienced during the fallout from the match, including a heartbreaking clip of him sitting on a bus while onlookers booed and hurled objects at him.

He added the incident brought a lot of attention that he would “never wish on anyone” on his loved ones, including his parents.

“I can’t forgive myself for that. That is the tough part of what happened, because I was the one that made the mistake,” he said.

The docuseries also unearths the revelation that his wife Victoria Beckham had rung him just before the now-infamous match to tell him she was pregnant with their first child.

Victoria weighed in on the difficult era during her interviews for the Netflix special, saying that she still wants to “kill those people” who tormented Beckham.

“He was absolutely broken. He was in pieces,” she said. “He was really depressed, absolutely clinically depressed.”

“It pained me so much; I still want to kill these people.”

Released on Netflix on October 4, the four-part docuseries spans from his childhood in east London to his latest role as co-owner of US team Inter Miami.

The doco is directed by award-winning director Fisher Stevens, best known to most audiences for his turn as Waystar RoyCo’s slimy spin doctor Hugo on the hit series Succession.

It took four years to complete and involved more than 45 hours of interviews filmed over a two-year period.

The series has already been critically lauded, with both the Sydney Morning Herald and the UK Telegraph giving it a five-star rating.

Netflix describes it as the “inside story” of a global football star and cultural icon.

“David Beckham is one of the most known names on the planet, yet few people know who he really is,” the Netflix release said.

“From his humble working-class beginnings in east London, his drive and determination to win, and the battle to find balance between ambition, love and family, David’s story is one of immense ups and downs.

“The series takes you on that rollercoaster and builds a surprising, personal and definitive story of one of the most recognisable and scrutinised athletes of all time.”

The series contains interviews with Beckham’s parents Ted and Sandra and famous football icons including Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Neville.

It premieres on October 4, and had its UK premiere on Tuesday evening at the Curzon in Mayfair, London.

Beckham’s family came out in full force, with sons Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn attending alongside daughter Harper and wife Victoria.