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David Beckham joined some of his ex-Manchester United teammates on Monday as he attended the funeral of a legend of his former team.
The ex-England captain, 49, appeared alongside United legends Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, and John O’Shea to pay their respects to Kath Phipps – United’s receptionist for 55 years.
Phipps joined United in 1968 – the year the team won their first European Cup – and went on to become an essential part of the club’s staff and community.
She worked under managers like Sir Alex, Sir Matt Busby, Ron Atkinson, and, in recent years, Jose Mourinho, as well as England World Cup winning players Nobby Stiles and Sir Bobby Charlton.
A childhood United fan – born in Irlam in Salford – Phipps died aged 85 in December last year after working for her favourite team across seven decades.
On Monday, the entire current United team gathered at Manchester Cathedral to give Phipps the send-off her years of loyalty deserved.
And former United players from down the years, including David, arrived for the occasion – by his side were his 1999 treble-winning teammates Nicky Butt and Roy Keane.
David wore suitably toned-down attire for the day, dressing in a long black coat, which was worn on top of a black suit with a white shirt and black tie.
Phipps greeted David at United’s training ground almost every morning, with the pair having worked together between his arrival as a 15-year-old in 1991 and his departure for Real Madrid in 2003.
Upon her death, David remembered Phipps fondly and credited her with looking after him when he arrived in Manchester while still at school.
‘The first and last face I would always see was Kath sat at reception at Old Trafford waiting to give me my tickets for the game. She was the heartbeat of Manchester United.’
He continued: ‘I moved up to Manchester at 15 and Kath made a promise to my mum and dad: “I’ll look after your boy for you don’t you worry”. From that first day until the last day I spent with her that’s exactly what she did.’
David concluded his statement by saying that United’s stadium, Old Trafford, would ‘never be the same’ without her smile greeting people as they walked through the doors.
In recognition of her work, Phipps received the League Managers Association’s Service to Football award in 2022 and collected her trophy alongside Sir Alex and former United midfielder Michael Carrick.
United wrote in their tribute to Phipps in December. ‘We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved colleague Kath Phipps at the age of 85.
‘An omnipresent figure at Manchester United since the late 1960s, Kath worked for the club for over 55 years in a variety of roles, but her contribution went beyond any particular job title.’
Speaking at her funeral, Sir Alex told the BBC: ‘She was a special person, she loved people. The thing that comes out of that is you look at her life and you can’t think of a moment when you can say she didn’t enjoy her life.’
Describing her as a ‘real United person’, saying she was a United legend ‘without question’ after 55 years at the reception desk.
‘I did 26 years [at United] and I thought that was unbelievable. She was a fantastic person and I was really glad that all the players turned up. That was a brilliant moment and she would appreciate that.’
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