David Beckham believes his wife Victoria "really understands" him.

He said: "The doctor came over to me and he gave me the phone. Victoria was on the phone and she said 'What's just happened?' And I said to her 'It's done'. And she said, 'What do you mean it's done?'

"And I remember, I'll never forget she just burst out unconditionally with emotion and crying, when someone just kind of can't get their breath. She literally handed the phone to one of the boys and the boys were upset.

"That was one of the points when I knew I had a wife that really understood me and really understood why I was doing it. She knew how much it meant to me, she knew how much playing in a fourth World Cup meant to me. That was a tough time for me."

During his stints playing in Italy for A.C. Milan, David, 39, embarked on cooking lessons and loves making meals for his family.

Speaking during previously-unseen scenes from 'David Beckham Into the Unknown' which are featured in the new DVD release of the documentary, he said: "When I was in Italy the culinary course was one of the things I always wanted to do. So I had the time and I thought, why not? The kids love Italian, so I can make fresh pasta from scratch.

"Victoria is easy. She loves vegetables and she loves salad, so Victoria's easy.

"I grew up with pie and mash from the East End of London. So that's still my favourite meal. Pie and mash is what I was brought up with."

'David Beckham Into the Unknown' is out on DVD now.