Francis, who played 52 times for England between 1976-86, experienced playing in the United States when he negotiated a three-year summer secondment from Birmingham City in 1978 to play for Detroit Express in the fledgling North American Soccer League (NASL).

After his first summer across the Atlantic, Francis moved to Nottingham Forest for a record £1million fee and although he went back to America again after they had won the European Cup, he returned injured and promptly had his wages stopped by legendary Forest boss Brian Clough.

Francis immediately became a celebrity in the States and the NASL used the England star to help promote the game and increase attendances.

It was a whirlwind period which took its toll on Francis, who forecasts it will be a "million times" worse for Beckham.

He said: "As much as I applaud the decision to bring him back into the England squad, I was very disappointed that he chose to go to America.

"I've played there back in the summers of 1979 and 1980 with Detroit and it is every different to playing in a top league in Europe.

"He is going to get incredibly frustrated playing there. The demands and the pressure on him are going to be even greater there than where he currently is with Real Madrid.

"He talks about being a team player - well, he will only be one of those for 90 minutes. They will expect so much more from him than just being a team player.

"I went to Detroit and was paid a handsome figure for the three months I was there. I always considered myself to be a team player but I also had to win football games through my own individual ability.

"There were occasions when I would not travel with the team. Every game away from home was always a flight because of the distance. But often I would have to travel without the team. I would go with the press officer two days beforehand to publicise the game.

"One place that stood out was Houston. I went down there two days beforehand to do a big press conference to publicise the game. I did that regularly. There were occasions when I would have to be in downtown Detroit at 5.30 in the morning to do a two-minute live interview because it was so important.

"The manager used tear his hair out at times because I would come back late for a training session through no fault of my own. But there were certain things like that which were taken out of his control because of the actual importance of promoting the soccer club.

"David Beckham is going to have that a million more times than I did. It takes it out of you and you have to get a balance.

"I started off playing in front of 13,000 people and after three months we got the crowds up to 35,000. That will be part of his job.

"At the moment, they are getting similar crowds of 13,000 and obviously his arrival will bring a few more in. But he is going to have to sustain it.

"I think he decided to go to America in a moment when he was very down. He had been left out of the Real Madrid squad and probably felt there was no way back there.

"Time was moving on with England and there didn't appear to be a window to get back into the England squad. So I think that was very much behind his thinking to go to America.

"The first summer I went out there was when I was still a Birmingham City player. I had a further two summers to do after that.

"The second year, I went as a Forest player, just after we had won the European Cup. I went on an England tour and went across to play in America and came back injured for Brian Clough, which didn't please him and he wouldn't pay me.

"I decided it was all getting too demanding - playing a length of time in England and then playing for your country at the end of the season as well as in America. So I decided not to go for the following year and concentrated on playing for Forest."

But Francis does not believe the slower pace and reduced fitness levels in the Major League Soccer set-up will affect Beckham too much if he remains included in the England squad for the European Championship qualifiers this Autumn.

"The tempo and competitiveness in the English championship will probably be higher than the league in America," Francis said.

"If you were talking about someone who was 22 and not 32 and looking at the long-term, I don't think it would ideal. But we are looking at a period of nine months and four or five games, so that will be okay."