The former free-kick king believes that if the Red Devils keep up their momentum of their current form, there is no reason why they can't go all the way.
United sit on top of the table for the first time since Louis van Gaal took control of the club and face one of their closest rivals in Arsenal this weekend.
Beckham has described playing against Arsenal as one of the seasonal highlights for any player - but hints that the rivalry has somewhat dwindled in recent years.
He said: “I’d like to think they can win the title. Obviously it’s a big game this weekend. Playing against Arsenal was one of the highlights of the season, especially when there was the rivalry that there was back in the day.
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“But I think United are coming off a good Champions League result, Arsenal not so much, so there’s a little bit more pressure on Arsenal this weekend, but Arsene Wenger is a great manager, he’s got a good team, there’s always difficult moments, but United are having a good time at the moment and I hope that continues on Sunday.”
Monday will mark 21 years to the day that Beckham made his debut in the famous red shirt of Manchester United during a 2-0 win over Port Vale at Old Trafford.
But Beckham has hailed iconic manager Sir Alex Ferguson for his success on the pitch and for giving him the chance to shine on the world stage from an early age.
Taking his chances: Beckham excelled after being given a chance by Ferguson
“There was no better feeling," he admitted when asked about his debut.
“You know, obviously, to grow up in Manchester and to grow up as a Manchester United player, that was always my dream, to play for Manchester United and to become a professional footballer, and to be successful as a Manchester United player.
“And that first game was so special for us. Obviously my first game was in the Champions League, but that was something at 17 years old that you could only dream of as a kid.
In pictures - Beckham opens new Adidas Home Court store in Dubai:
“To play my first full senior appearance – that’s what the manager was good at – the manager brought young players into the team, not just myself, obviously Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Keith Gillespie, all these players that actually played in these games
“He brought these young players in and that’s why he was successful the way he was.
“We knew that we’d have a chance of playing because that’s what the manager did in these games, he liked to change the first team up and bring younger players into these games.
“It was something that we all hoped that we play in, he’d tell us the day before, but it was obviously something that we all cherished.
“Playing for Manchester United, it’s never easy, and to get that chance, you never know if it’s your last game or the first of as many games as we all played.
“But luckily the manager had enough faith in us kids – and we were young kids – the fact that he threw us all in at the same time, shows the vision he had for the future, and the faith he had in us.”
The David Beckham UNICEF Match for Children kick-offs at 3pm on 14th November 2015 at Old Trafford, Manchester. Tickets from £20 (Adults) & £10 (Under-16s) are on sale at www.manutd.com/tickets
The flag was presented to astronaut Steve Swanson who flew the banner around the universe as their craft orbited around planet Earth
Sitting pretty: The United flag was welcomed to the international space station
Manchester United are top of the league – and on top of the world thanks to one Russian Red Devil.
Alexey Yakovlev sent his beloved flag of the Old Trafford club into space thanks to friends on the International Space Station.
Yakovlev, who lives in the Chkalovsky region of Moscow, passed the flag on to NASA astronaut Steve Swanson who flew the red, white and black banner while the craft orbited the Earth.
Speaking to Red News fanzine, Yakovlev said: “I decided to send the MUFC flag to bring some space energy to the club.
“I am very proud of what I did because United means a lot to me. We’ve waved our flag up in space – nobody can make it any higher!”.
Flying high: United sit on top of the table and on top of the world
A special certificate of authenticity was sent to Yakovlev to confirm the flag was flown on ISS expeditions 39 and 40 aboard the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft.
The crew, who landed in September 2014, flew in space for 169 days and orbited the Earth a total of 2,704 times .
Yakovlev now intends to present the flag to club officials when United visit Moscow to take on Russian rivals CSKA in their next Champions League group game on Wednesday 21 October.
United fans always did think their club was out of this world.
Manchester United is delighted to announce it has reached agreement with Bayern Munich to sign midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, subject to a medical and personal terms.
A further announcement will be made when the process is complete.
The study combines academy products at the club, and others
sold or on loan in Europe's top five leagues, with United way ahead of
their Premier League rivals
Manchester United are listed second in the homegrown list of European clubs, as Louis van Gaal continues to turn to youth.
The stats from the CIES Football Observatory combine homegrown
players at their parent club - and others sold or on loan in the Premier
League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
And only Barcelona, where Van Gaal brought through the likes of Xavi
and Andres Iniesta, have produced more footballers in the top five
leagues than the Red Devils.
United pip Real Madrid to second with 36 players developed, closely followed by Lyon and Paris Saint Germain.
The report comes after Van Gaal faced criticism early into his reign for going against the club's identity by flogging the likes of Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley.
Nevertheless, the United boss has still handed debuts to seven
academy products this term, including Tyler Blackett, Jesse Lingaard and
Paddy McNair.
The closest English club are Arsenal in joint ninth with 22 players
developed - although just seven remain at the Emirates - with Aston
Villa way behind with six out of 14 at the club.
Tottenham, Southampton, Chelsea and Manchester City are joint-last in the 51-club list with 12 players, although Manuel Pellegrini's men have just one homegrown player in their current squad.
Spurs boast six, Southampton four and Jose Mourinho's league leaders three.
The striker’s participation at the Etihad on Sunday is in doubt but the statistics show Louis van Gaal needs his captain
Wayne Rooney’s participation in Sunday’s Manchester derby could be in
doubt after the striker was reportedly seen limping at a promotional
event and, if recent results are anything to go by, Louis van Gaal will
be desperate to have his captain available.
With United still to record a win away from Old Trafford in any
competition this season, making it now almost seven months since their
4-0 win at Newcastle when David Moyes was still in situ, the Dutchman
will nonetheless have been encouraged by his side’s fightback to deny
Chelsea victory on Sunday.
A red card for Branislav Ivanovic rallied United in the final minutes
of the game and Robin van Persie secured a point for the home side when
he scored from a close-range shot in the final minute of added time.
Didier Drogba had opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 53rd minute
after some poor defending let the veteran striker have a clear header at
the near post.
It was a much improved outing by Louis van Gaal's
side, who now look ahead to a derby match against Manchester City next
Sunday. Sky Sports expert Gary Neville was impressed with his former
club's performance against the Premier League leaders but says they must
continue to build.
The Super Sunday panel believe Manchester United's performance against Chelsea was a vast improvement
"It’s a big goal for United," Neville told Super Sunday.
"They’d have been deflated – because they did play well in the game – to come out and lose. It will feel like a win.
"The
performance level, forget the result, but the performance level was a
higher level than Manchester United have produced all season against an
excellent team; the best team in the league.
"They had to step up a
level today and they did. I thought they were fantastic in the first
half and they genuinely caused Chelsea problems." Improvement
Louis van Gaal says his United side need to be more clinical but praised their improved performance
The draw puts United on 12 points and only four away from the
Champions League qualifying spots, but Neville insists that despite the
improvement, there's still plenty to work on.
"The only
disappointment today was the star player [Angel] Di Maria – he was the
only one that probably dipped below the level he has been, the rest of
them were fantastic.
"[Adnan] Januzaj was better than Monday
night, [Luke] Shaw was better than Monday night – it was a step up today
and they’re going to have to step up again this week because playing at
the Etihad is going to be a different game to this today.
"They’re going to have to get better and better and keep improving.
"They
needed that goal at the end to get that reward for a better
performance. I know he [Van Gaal] says they could have won but they also
could have easily have lost – Chelsea looked like they were seeing that
game out quite comfortably.
"If you’d have said to a United fan before the game, 'you’ll get a
point here today', I think they would have snapped your hand off. If
you’d have said, 'you’ll get a point and you’ll have that level of
performance' - that’s a win win.
"Today they can be happy but next week they’re going to have to step it up again." Reliant Robin
Van
Persie's last-gasp goal rescued United from a second defeat at Old
Trafford this season and Neville believes the Dutch striker benefitted
from the absence of Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao.
"Van Persie has benefitted today from Rooney and Falcao not being available.
"Probably
after 50-65 minutes he would have been pulled off. The fact that he’s
actually been allowed to play 90minutes and the chance has come very
late for him – he might not have had that chance if the others were fit.
"I’ve
never seen Chelsea as spread and as split in midfield with the space
and pathways through to Van Persie. [Juan] Mata and [Marouane] Fellaini
did really well in those positions, I thought the defence got back
quickly as soon as they gave the ball away, Van Persie looked livelier
than he has done.”
The England and United captain has been forced to sit out the Red
Devils' last three Premier League outings through suspension but is set
to be available to face City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
But Pellegrini feels that Rooney is not the main man at Old Trafford and
that there are plenty who could trouble his team when the two sides
meet.
"I think Rooney is a very important player for Manchester United but I
think that big teams never depend on one player," he told reporters.
"They have enough important, creative players to replace him."
Goal understands that the former Everton man could yet miss out against the Premier League champions with a foot injury,
though he is expected to make a full recovery. Fellow striker Radamel
Falcao should also be fit after missing out with a knock against
Chelsea.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini believes that Wayne Rooney is replaceable at Manchester United as he looks set to return to action.
Chicharito Hernández is the nº9 that Real have been looking for as a finishing touch to the team before the summer market comes to a close tomorrow. 'Los Blancos' are at present deep in negotiations with Manchester United to get the deal done in time.
Chicharito is one of the names on the table. The Mexican is surplus to requirements for Van Gaal, scores well and should be happy to take more of a back seat at Real.
Italian newspaper Tuttosport suggest that Van Gaal is ready to table a £40m offer before the deadline in an attempt to prise him away at the last minute.
However, the indications are that even at such a figure the Old Lady's stance remains the same and they will keep hold of Vidal at all costs.
Manchester United have won the race to sign Radamel Falcao from Monaco on a one-year loan deal. The striker will cost the Old Trafford club £12million and follows Angel di Maria, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Ander Herrera and Marcos Rojo in joining manager Louis van Gaal at the club.
The 28-year-old Colombian has yet to agree personal terms - he will reportedly earn £200,000-a-week - but that is expected to be a formality and he is believed to be on his way to Manchester in a private jet.
The potent striker had been expected to join Manchester City on deadline day while Arsenal also entered the race late last week.
But United threw their hat into the ring amid fears of persistent niggling injuries to Robin van Persie and will offset Falcao's arrival by selling Danny Welbeck while Javier Hernandez has joined Real Madrid.
Indeed, Madrid were frontrunners for Falcao and the player himself posted - and later deleted - a tweet on Saturday appearing to confirm the move.
But the Spanish giants, who sold Di Maria to United for £60m last week, instead opted to sign Hernandez who had struggled to force his way into Van Gaal's plans.
After completing his move, Falcao will join up with his national team ahead of their friendly against Brazil in Miami on Friday night.
The clash will be a repeat of the World Cup quarter-final which Brazil won 2-1 although Falcao missed the tournament through injury.
Falcao became the youngest debutant in the Colombian second tier when he played for Lanceros Boyaca in 1999 at the age of 13.
He joined River Plate in 2005 for £300,000 and spent four years in Argentina before moving to Porto for £3m. Seventy two goals in just 87 games thrust him into the spotlight as one of Europe's hottest strikers and Monaco pounced last year, paying a reported £47m.
But despite his palatial surroundings in the tax haven, Falcao was desperate to challenge himself in a more demanding environment and is believed to have reduced his demands in order to secure a move before the transfer deadline on Monday night.
United's poor start to the Premier League season continued on Saturday when they drew 0-0 with new boys Burnley at Turf Moore.
The stalemate highlighted Van Gaal's problems up front with his side having scored just two goals in their opening three games.
On Sunday night, City had moved into pole position to land Falcao, who is rated at £50m. But their deal was dependent on Alvaro Negredo returning to Spain with Valencia.
Director of football Txiki Begiristain is understood to have held talks with Monaco officials at last Thursday’s Champions League draw in the principality.
City would have had to sell Negredo and possibly two more in order to sign Falcao on a permanent deal and still meet the £49m net spend limit set by UEFA’s financial fair play rules but that would have been avoided had he joined on loan.
Earlier, Sportsmail revealed that Arsenal initiated first contact with the star's advisers on Friday, informing them of their desire to take the striker on loan, not a permanent deal.
And Juventus also negotiated with Monaco but were left frustrated at the French club's refusal to pay part of the striker's wages during a potential loan deal.
Di Maria added: "Louis van Gaal is a fantastic coach with a proven track record of success and I am impressed by the vision and determination everyone has to get this club back to the top - where it belongs. I now just cannot wait to get started."
United manager Van Gaal praised Di Maria as "a world-class midfielder" but added "most importantly he is a team player".
"There is no doubting his immense natural talent," continued the Dutchman.
"He is a tremendously fast and incisive left-footed player who puts fear into the most accomplished defence. His dribbling skills and his ability to take on and beat opponents are a joy to watch. He is an excellent addition to the team."
Di Maria is the sixth most expensive global signing ever, topped only by the big money paid out by Spanish giants Real and Barcelona.
Real signed Gareth Bale for £85m, Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m and James Rodriguez for £63m, while Barcelona paidbetween £65m and £75m for Luis Suarez, and £71m for Neymar.
United last broke the British transfer record when they paid Leeds £29.1m for former England defender Rio Ferdinand in 2002.
The Old Trafford club have spent £131.7m since last season, having bought left-back Luke Shaw, midfielderAnder Herrera and Di Maria's Argentina team-mateMarcos Rojo for a combined £72m this summer.
He joined Real from Benfica for £36m in 2010, and won La Liga in 2012 and the Champions League last season.
Former Real president Ramon Calderon said on Sunday that he did "not like" the idea of Di Maria leaving, adding: "Normally a club who owns the very good players don't like to sell them."
However, in an open letter to Real fans published in Spanish newspaper Marca, Di Maria claimed that he did not want to leave the club.
"I want to make it clear that this was never my desire," he wrote, before claiming that "many lies" were spoken about his departure and admitting that he was saddened not to be offered a new contract.
"The only thing I asked for is something that would be fair," he added.
