Weeks before David and Victoria Beckham first met, the footballer had already decided that they would “always” be together.

As the couple prepare to celebrate their 25th anniversary on Thursday (4 July), David, 49, has revealed how Victoria, 50, was his “idea of perfection” before he’d even met her,

and that their long-lasting marriage was inevitable.

The pair first met in 1997 at a charity football match at the Manchester United players’ lounge, when Victoria was 22 and David was 21. They went on to marry two years later.

“I always said that once I met Victoria, I would always be with her,” he told The Sun.

“A couple of months before we met I was abroad with the England team,” he began.

“Gary Neville and I were in the hotel room and a Spice Girls video came on. I think it was ‘Say You’ll Be There’.

I pointed at the screen and told him, ‘That’s the girl for me and I’m going to get her.’”

The song was the band’s first single to debut at number one on the UK singles chart, and assured their continued success. Victoria, who was known as Posh Spice, during her singing career, is seen wearing a black PVC catsuit in the video.

David had not reached levels of international stardom yet, and wasn’t in the first team for England at that stage, with Victoria being more famous at the time.

The Beckhams stars, who share four children, have previously described how a smitten David would travel hours to spend 20 minutes with Victoria when they started dating.

“It was her eyes, her face. She’s my idea of perfection,” he said.

And it appears that the feeling was mutual as Victoria shared a similar experience.

“I fancied David long before we met,” she said. “I remember doing an interview for a soccer magazine and they showed me photos of different footballers. I had no idea who he was, but I just remember thinking one word: Gorgeous.”

Victoria has previously recalled meeting David for the first time, in what she described in British Vogue as “love at first sight”.

In a previous interview with People, David reflected on the early days of the romance, noting that the support that he and Victoria had for each other’s careers is what kept them strong.

“You know, she was a Spice Girl, I was playing for Manchester United, and even when we were going through the difficult times, we actually had each other to feed off and that was the best part,” he said.