Michael Jordan has been vacationing in Europe for quite some time now, and he recently made his way to Ibiza, Spain, with his wife, Yvette Prieto. As you’d imagine, Jordan and Prieto were hardly the only power couple vacationing in Ibiza at this time of the year, and they linked up with David Beckham and his wife, Victoria Beckham, for lunch.
Now, David is a billionaire (with Victoria) and one of the most recognizable figures in the world today, but even he couldn’t help but be starstruck when he met Jordan.
View this post on Instagram
Jordan tends to have that kind of impact on most people. In this case, the Chicago Bulls icon was also one of David’s idols. He actually spoke in 2001 about being starstruck when he first met Jordan.
“I think Michael Jordan is the most starstruck I’ve ever been when I met him,” Beckham said, via the Irish Examiner. “Even though he was sat at a table with Madonna and a couple of others, I was looking straight at him. Victoria just nudged my leg and said, ‘Stop embarrassing me.’ They sent a drink over, a bottle of champagne, and we went to say thank you. Madonna had sent it over.
“Michael Jordan stood up, and I shook his hand, and his whole hand covered the whole of my arm,” Beckham added.
David also said if he could swap places with anyone for a week, it’d be Jordan. By this point he had married Victoria and won many trophies at Manchester United.
Speaking of United, Beckham famously wore No. 23 when he left them for Real Madrid in 2003. Raul already had his iconic No. 7, so he chose Jordan’s number. It’s rare that a great athlete can have such an impact on another.
It speaks to Jordan’s stature. The 63-year-old has also had a whole lot of eyes on him during this vacation.
Jordan was at Bruno Mars’ concert at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, on July 15, and the crowd’s attention shifted to him when they realized he was in attendance. That was apparently the end of his Italian getaway, and he was spotted at the Monte-Carlo Casino in Monaco last week. Jordan sure appears to be having a blast.
Fred Whitfield On Who Could Leave Michael Jordan Starstruck
We have heard many stories over the years about Jordan leaving people starstruck, but has there ever been anyone who could have that kind of impact on him? Well, his longtime friend Fred Whitfield thinks Muhammad Ali was probably the only one.
“The only person that I can think of is Muhammad Ali,” Whitfield said. “We went to, I think, four or five, maybe four Kentucky Derbies together. But Muhammad Ali is the only one that I think could really make Michael turn into a kid. He obviously idolized David Thompson as well, but Muhammad Ali was a big deal to all of us.”
Ali would have been an inspiration to most Black individuals growing up in Jordan’s time. To go with being an incredible boxer, he was a pivotal figure in the civil rights movement.
The great Ali would pass away on June 2, 2016, at the age of 74. He had famously called himself “The Greatest,” and Jordan said he was right when reacting to his passing. Ali was a colossus in every sense of the word.
