David Beckham and Diego Simeone shared a moment in Miami that would have been unthinkable in 1998. The two former rivals posed for a photo during Argentina’s World Cup win over Cape Verde, and Beckham posted it on Instagram with a caption that read: “bumped into an old friend in Miami.”
Old friend. That’s one way to put it.
For anyone who watched the 1998 World Cup, the image is still burned in. Beckham, then 23, got tangled with Simeone near midfield. Simeone went down clutching his leg. Beckham flicked a foot back at him. Referee Kim Nielsen saw it, pulled out a red card, and England was down a man against Argentina in the Round of 16.
England lost on penalties. Beckham became public enemy No. 1 back home. Newspaper headlines called him a traitor. Someone hung an effigy of him outside a pub. He took all of it and showed up the next season hungrier than ever.
That 1998-99 season ended with Manchester United winning the treble. Beckham finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting. And in March 1999, he got a small piece of revenge when United knocked Simeone’s Inter Milan out of the Champions League quarterfinals.
But that’s ancient history now. Twenty-six years will do that.
Simeone is 54 now and still coaching Atletico Madrid, a job he’s held since 2011. Beckham is 51, runs Inter Miami as part-owner, and just got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Both men have moved on. Both have families, careers, legacies that dwarf one moment on a field in Saint-Étienne.
The photo was taken at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which is basically Beckham’s backyard. Inter Miami plays there. Lionel Messi plays there. Beckham picked the spot for the reunion. It’s hard not to notice the symmetry.
Fans online had mixed reactions. Some called it a classy gesture from two legends who let bygones be bygones. Others couldn’t get past the 1998 flashbacks. One Twitter user wrote: “Diego Simeone is the reason David Beckham became a villain in England. Now they’re taking pictures together. Football is wild.”
Beckham’s career has had more chapters than most. He came through United’s academy, played 394 times for the club, scored 85 goals, then fell out with Sir Alex Ferguson and left for Real Madrid in 2003. Four seasons in Spain. Then Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain. Now he owns part of Salford City with Gary Neville and runs Inter Miami alongside Jorge Mas.
Simeone’s legacy is different. He’s the guy who built Atletico Madrid into a perennial contender. Two La Liga titles. Two Europa League trophies. A Champions League final that got away twice. He’s still doing it, still prowling the sideline in that black tracksuit, still getting under everyone’s skin.
But in Miami, on a June night during the World Cup, two old rivals stood side by side and smiled for a camera. No grudges. No tension. Just a photo and a simple caption.
That’s the thing about time. It eventually makes everyone look like old friends.
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