Former Manchester United and England midfielder David Beckham has backed David Moyes to put things right at his old club and tipped Chelsea and Manchester City to fight out the title.
Beckham retired from the game last season after finishing his career with Paris Saint-Germain and was speaking at a press conference in America where he is building a new football club in Miami to play in Major League Soccer.
Despite not playing for United for several years, it’s clear he still has strong feelings for the club and has given Moyes his full support after the Scot has struggled in his opening season. United lost at Stoke City last week – their eighth in the league this season.
He told ESPN: “I think that David Moyes is a great manager, but it takes time.
“You know he’s joined a club like Manchester United, biggest club in the world, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and there’s a transitional period. People talk about it being a tough season.”
And the former Real Madrid and LA Galaxy star believes the time required rules United out of the title race this season.
He added: “As a Manchester United fan, I’ve been watching City and City play some great football.
“They’re a strong team. They’ve got a strong unit.
“But personally, seeing Jose Mourinho going back to Chelsea… there’s something about Jose and Chelsea that not many other clubs have.
“He’s won championships, he knows how to win championships, he knows how to win trophies, and he’s not just a great manager, he’s a strong personality as well. Some people can’t compete with that.”
Arsenal are currently top of the league and play Liverpool on Saturday, and Beckham praised both teams but feels they aren’t strong enough, just yet, to win the league.
“There are strong teams there [in England].
“Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, strong team, great manager, great players. Obviously Liverpool are having a pretty good season as well.
“But Chelsea, Man City, Pellegrini… I think is a great manager, so we’ll see.”