India, Dec. 30 -- David Beckham has opened up on how his move to Real Madrid could have gone in a completely different direction, claiming Manchester United had initially accepted a bid from Barcelona before the deal flipped in a matter of hours.

Speaking to CBS Sports, the 50-year-old revisited the dramatic summer when his Old Trafford chapter was coming to an unexpected end, and why he made it clear there was only one destination he would accept in Spain.

"My team in Spain was always Real Madrid," he said. "Funnily enough, I got sold from Manchester United to Barcelona."

Beckham said the shock came while he was away, when United's then-chief executive Peter Kenyon called with the news that a deal with Barcelona had been agreed, and t...