Tom Brady, displayed his no-nonsense leadership style during a tense moment as he got snappy with an employee over the topic of what kind of gift they should get for David Beckham.
The scene was captured in the Amazon Prime Video docuseries Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues, following his second year as a minority owner of Birmingham City and their rise back to the Championship after relegation the previous season.
In the second episode, the seven-time Super Bowl champion is seen losing patience with a staff member at the soccer club before a high-profile match against Wrexham in September, whom they were competing with for promotion.
According to several UK media reports, the disagreement unfolded over whether Beckham should receive a club gift bag, due to having no formal link to Birmingham. He was there in attendance as Tom’s personal guest.
The staff member reportedly suggested it would be inappropriate to offer club merchandise, such as a hoodie, scarf, and hat, to the Manchester United legend. Brady’s reaction was immediate and scathing.
“That’s f**king stupid,” Brady snapped. “Give him a gift bag to take home. It’s a sweet thing.
“He doesn’t have to wear it.”
Prior to the outburst, the ex-New England Patriots star had already discussed the idea with his co-owner, Tom Wagner, proposing a selection of club-branded items to present to Beckham as a gesture of hospitality.
Despite these struggles, Birmingham rebounded spectacularly, clinching automatic promotion and the League One title with a record-setting 111 points, with Ryan Reynold’s Wrexham team finishing in second-place.
Birmingham’s success came after an aggressive £25 million investment-more than the rest of the division combined, not accounting for wages and contracts.
Brady questions Rooney’s leadership skills
The docuseries does more than capture light-hearted moments and behind-the-scenes access, it also reveals the hard truths Brady encountered during his first year in English football.
Among them was the ill-fated appointment of the legendary soccer star, Wayne Rooney, as Birmingham manager who was brought in early in the 2023-24 season, endured a difficult tenure.
Known for scoring 364 career goals, becoming Manchester United‘s all-time leading scorer, winning 16 career trophies and captaining the England national team, he was a big name to bring to the club.
Then sixth in the table when he arrived, their fortunes transformed drastically and they plummeted 14 places, winning just two of 15 games. It was remarkably similar to a situation Birmingham also found themselves almost in a decade prior.
He was dismissed after only 83 days, with Birmingham eventually suffering relegation. Brady later reflected on the misstep, expressing concerns that had surfaced not long after Rooney took charge.
“Well, at different times, you always want to give people opportunities to succeed,” Brady said in the series. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Wayne and what he accomplished.
“He’s one of the greatest players that’s ever been on a pitch. At the same time, I have very high expectations for what leadership looks like.”
Brady later added, exclusively to talkSPORT: “They were lazy, they were entitled and when you’re lazy and entitled, you don’t have much of a chance to succeed.
“We’ve got to change all the people that are associated with losing, so I think this summer there’s going to be a lot of people gone.”
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