Argentina captain Diego Simeone had a run-in with England's David Beckham during the 1998 Fifa World Cup in France, which saw the former Manchester United winger earning a red card.
While he may have smiled for the cameras to show they have kissed and made up, beneath the polished surface, David Beckham will surely be relishing the prospect of a long-delayed piece of sporting revenge over Diego Simeone.
It is unlikely that any other single player has had such a profound, career-altering impact on Beckham. His professional life was thrown into complete turmoil following the 1998 World Cup in France, where England's bitter round-of-16 exit was largely pinned on the then 23-year-old midfielder after his infamous red card for a petulant kick out at Simeone.
The dismissal, however, remains one of the tournament's most controversial flashpoints. It was widely viewed by fans as a harsh overreaction by Danish referee Kim Milton Nielsen, who fell victim to a masterclass in South American gamesmanship.
Decades later, during Beckham’s Netflix documentary series, Simeone himself candidly admitted that the contact did not warrant a red card, confessing that he used a heavy dose of theatrics to ensure the Englishman was sent off.
