David Beckham: I get physically ill when I have to leave the kids

David Beckham has become quite the family guy after retiring from professional football and feels "secure as a person, as a husband, as a dad" despite media often criticising his parenting techniques.

The fashion icon who features for the first time on the cover of GQ for its April issue as the "Patron Saint of Swagger" explained that despite having hung up his studs, he's still a very busy man. "I get physically ill when I have to leave the kids now," he said, adding he spends much of his time at home watching Frozen for the hundredth time with his four-year-old daughter Harper or simply catching some Friends reruns.

While family life and retirement are working well for Beckham, there's no denying he misses the pitch. "I miss soccer every day. I don't know whether it's the athlete in me, or the passion I have for the game: I always think that I can step back on the field and play..." he said.

His decision to move back to London with wife Victoria and their four children has a little to do with it. "You know, maybe I could play another year in the US. If I was still living in LA, I'd probably really seriously think about coming back for a year. But we're living in London, and the kids are happy in the school...."

Father to sons Brooklyn (17), Romeo (13) and Cruz (11) along with daughter Harper, Beckham has been spotted more often in the stands at games following his official retirement in 2013 but once in a while will dust off his boots for a special game like the one in 2015, which was organised to raise funds for Unicef.