ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN says he can relate to David and Victoria Beckham as he admitted the toughness of being in a long-distance relationship.
The 35-capped England international began dating music superstar Perrie Edwards from hit band Little Mix in 2017 shortly after joining Liverpool.
While he was lifting the Champions League, European Super Cup, Club World Cup, Premier League, Carabao Cup and the FA Cup during his six seasons at Anfield, their relationship continued to blossom.
The couple had a baby boy together in 2021 and then announced their engagement in the summer of 2022.
However, while Oxlade-Chamberlain decided to move to Turkish giants Besiktas in August, work commitments meant that his family were not able to join him on a full time basis.
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Just like thousands of other football fans, he and Perrie did find time to watch the recent David Beckham Netflix documentary together.
At times, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Edwards, a high-profile England footballer and a member of a globally successful girl band, have been described in tabloid reports as “the new Beckhams”.
Speaking to The Athletic, the former Arsenal ace said: “I think they were a bit of a bigger deal than we are.
“I thought [the documentary] was amazing. It was a big eye-opener for me actually.
“Even as a footballer, knowing how things can be, I didn’t realise how much Beckham had gone through. Even Perrie watched it. She loves Posh Spice.”
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The documentary delved into how much time the Beckhams spent after his move to Real Madrid, then uprooting his family again to head to America only for him to return to Europe on loan at AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
Oxlade-Chamberlain revealed that Perrie and their son, Axel, have been flying back and forth to Istanbul to stay with him and he admits that the distance from his loved ones is the hardest part of playing abroad.
He said: “Even when I was at Liverpool they would often come up for a week and go back down for two weeks because Perrie has to work in London a lot of the time.
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“There were elements I could relate to [in the documentary]. Perrie could relate to a lot of it, too, travelling back and forth and recording while looking after our little boy.
“He talks a lot now and he’s a bit more switched on at two-and-a-bit, so he’s starting to question where I am and what I’m doing, but he’s slowly understanding.
“But these are the sacrifices you have to make for your future and your family’s future.
“They understood [Besiktas] was the best opportunity to tick all the boxes that I need to tick and come and play some football.
“They came here last week and it was like a little holiday for us. We’re making it work.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain has enjoyed a rollercoaster start to life in Turkey and has already seen a change in manager in his brief stint there.
So far he has scored once in ten appearances and he says he is loving life on the pitch despite the cauldron of pressure at Besiktas from their expectant fans.
He added: “I’m at a proper, proper football club with ambition and a big fanbase and expectation.
“That need to win and that need to perform is definitely still there.
“I just want to play. I need to play, to take this opportunity and see what I can still achieve while my legs are still moving.”
