THIS is one of my favourite photographs and, when I first saw it in the newspapers, I made sure I got a copy to have at home. It is 1999 and we have just reached the European Cup final by beating Juventus in their own backyard. For two best mates, lads who have supported Manchester United for as long as they can remember, life could not get any better than that.

It is a picture of two people doing their dream job, but dreams do not go on for ever. I have sat in the same seat on the team coach next to David Beckham for 12 years and it still feels weird to think that, from next season, that place will be filled by someone else.

There is a sadness in seeing him go, but I do not see any reason why his move should not benefit Manchester United and David Beckham. The club has got more than a decade of brilliant service out of him and a massive profit at the end of it. Our manager is the best in the world and I know he will have spent a lot of time thinking about what he is going to do with the money.

For Becks, he has the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to prove himself at the only club as big as United. He will have butterflies the first time he goes to training and sits down with Ronaldo, Zidane, Raúl and Figo, but I have known David Beckham long enough to be sure that he can add to Real Madrid.

I still remember first coming across him in the youth teams. All of us local lads, such as Nicky Butt, me and Paul Scholes, wondered who this flash Cockney lad was. He always used to have the latest United tracksuit and the club clearly rated him. I have heard Bryan Robson and Steve Bruce comment on how the manager used to take Becks into the dressing-room when the team played in London. It happened so often that even senior pros were saying: “Boss, this lad must be something special.” He was so slight, but he could still strike a ball farther than any of us. It all came down to practice and he and Scholesy would do more than anyone. You can see it now in the way they kick a ball, Becks with finesse and Scholesy with power.

Becks is the best in the world at set-pieces, but it will not be the free kicks and the technique that will impress them in the Bernabéu — they will be expecting all that. His character and spirit will take them by surprise. It is the Englishness in him, the willingness to do whatever it takes when the chips are down; the way he seeks the ball. He just wants to play, wants to win. It is an honesty and determination on the pitch and it is infectious.

In a United shirt, the 1999 European Cup final was probably as good an example of those qualities as I can remember. He was our best player that night. He ran everywhere and, of course, took the corners that brought the two goals.

He rose to the challenge in the Nou Camp, but he has been doing that all his life. He has had something to overcome ever since he left home as a teenager and moved north. He was sent on loan to Preston North End and he thought that might be the end of his career. He came back after a few weeks and got straight into the first team. People wondered how they could replace Andrei Kanchelskis with David Beckham. They said that he was not quick enough, that he could not beat a man, but he was still filling the role more than a decade later.

They said he would never be the same again after the 1998 World Cup finals when he came back a leper after being sent off against Argentina. Old Trafford was the only place in the country where he was not isolated. I will never forget what the manager said to him about “going on holiday and then getting back home to Manchester United among all the people who will look after you”. Becks came back and repaid all that support.

I still remember his first match back at Old Trafford. I know he was nervous going out there, but the fans cheered him the first time he went over to take a corner and it must have made his spine tingle. He scored the equalising goal against Leicester City in the last five minutes, as if to show that he would not be beaten.

I know that strength of character will see him through in Spain. He will be subjected to so much attention, but he will not shy away from it. He will thrive on it. He has signed a four-year contract and he will not come back until he has been a success.

Whether it is in the white shirt of England or Real, I also know that he will get a great reception when he returns to Old Trafford. I have been a bit worried over the past week about how his departure might be portrayed, but, like all the great players who have moved on, he leaves knowing that he has been good for Manchester United and the club has been good for him.

I know Becks will not mind me saying that the club can survive the departure of any player, whether it is Cantona, Schmeichel, Robson or Hughes. We will move on from Beckham, but he leaves some great memories and takes some amazing ones with him. He goes with the best wishes of everyone, but, even as his best mate, I will not be expecting any favours when United play Real and we are going in for a 50-50 challenge.

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