Shaquille O'Neal once jokingly demanded a cash reward for returning Sir David Beckham's wallet that he found lying on the ground. The two formed a bond when the former Manchester United star joined the LA Galaxy in 2007.
O'Neal had previously appeared for NBA team the Los Angeles Lakers and recalled that he was planning to keep the cash he found in the wallet. However, he quickly changed his mind when he realised whose property it was.
During an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, the 54-year-old said: 'I was walking one day in Beverly Hills and I found a wallet. Usually when I find wallets, I just take all the money out and I just throw them. But this was a nice wallet.'
After realising the wallet was Beckham's, O'Neal switched up his stunt and decided to play a joke on the former England international. He said: 'First I played a joke. I was like, "I have your wallet, it's going to cost you a million dollars to get it back." But he knew it was me. [Beckham said] "Shaq, stop playing". I was like "Dave, I found your wallet." The funny thing is he [Beckham] said, "There was some money in this wallet, you know what happened?" And I was like, "Nope."'
Beckham's response to the lost money joke showcased his close friendship with the basketball icon as he settled across the Atlantic. Nowadays, the ex-United star is the president and co-owner of MLS side Inter Miami and works closely with the legendary Lionel Messi.
The former Real Madrid man will likely make an appearance at the World Cup this year as it is staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The west coast is represented by San Francisco, LA and Seattle with the USA national team playing two of their group stage games at the Los Angeles Stadium (also known as the SoFi Stadium).
New Zealand, Iran, Switzerland, Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina will also appear at the venue. Three knockout rounds will be held at the LA Stadium, including two round-of-32 clashes and a quarter-final match.
Messi's Argentina squad will take part in their opening group game against Algeria on Tuesday, June 16, at the Kansas City Stadium. Meanwhile, Beckham's England team will face Croatia on Wednesday, June 17 at the Dallas Stadium.
