David Beckham is mourning the loss of a longtime friend.
The retired soccer player, who began his professional career with Manchester United at the age of 15, shared a tribute to the soccer club’s longtime receptionist Kath Phipps after her death at age 85.
“The first and last face I would always see was Kath sat at reception at Old Trafford waiting to give me my tickets for the game,” David wrote in a Dec. 5 Instagram post. “She was the heartbeat of Manchester United , everyone knew who Kath was and everyone adored her.”
And the six-time Premier League champ—who shares kids Brooklyn, 25, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 19, and Harper, 13, with wife Victoria Beckham—noted the special relationship he had with Kath from the pair’s first meeting.
“I moved up to Manchester at 15,” David explained, “and Kath made a promise to my mum and dad: ‘I'll look after your boy for you don't you worry’ and from that first day till the last day I spent with her that's exactly what she did.”
Sharing that “Old Trafford will never be the same without your smile as we walk through those doors,” he added in his tribute to Kath, “We love you.”
Manchester United—where Kath worked in various roles over her 55 years with the organization—also shared the impact her presence made on those around her.
“If Kath ever had a bad day, she never brought it to work,” read a statement shared to the soccer club’s website. “Her positive attitude helped set the mood for everyone entering the training ground, always ready to lend an ear and offer words of encouragement to anyone who needed them—be they megastar footballers, casual staff or occasional visitors.”
And the receptionist was vocal about her own love for the sport and her work.
“I don’t think I’ve had one cross word with anybody in all the years I’ve been here,” she said in a 2023 interview, according to the site. “I look forward to coming in and having a smile on my face every day, wishing people ‘good morning.’ I just enjoy being here. Not everybody can say they enjoy going to work but I do. Football has been my life.”