David Beckham thought he was too big for Manchester United and later surrendered part of his career by moving to the United States to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, former manager Alex Ferguson said in his autobiography, published on Tuesday.

Beckham, who burst into the limelight after coming through the ranks at United, features heavily in My Autobiography, published by Hodder and Stoughton, Ferguson's recollections of the years since the 1999 treble-winning season.

Ferguson's relationships with former skipper Roy Keane, current striker Wayne Rooney and arch-managerial rivals such as Rafa Benitez and Arsene Wenger also get plenty of wordage.