LA Galaxy star David Beckham says Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney should not be forced to curb his fiery style of play.

"When you are a bit older, you see players' reactions and see what can happen next," Beckham, now on-loan at AC Milan, said. "I've seen it with some of the best players in the world.

"Look at ZZ, you can see it in his eyes sometimes in games. You know what's going to happen.

"It's all about the passion, which is the biggest thing. You don't want to take that out of him. You can try to get to him in time as a team-mate, but some things are uncontrollable.

"You can have some of the most experienced players in the game telling you to calm down, but sometimes you can't be controlled."

Rooney has been in the spotlight since his red card at Fulham last weekend.

Ahead of the England matches against Slovakia and Ukraine, England boss Fabio Capello made a light-hearted reference during training to the Craven Cottage dismissal.

Beckham will now give Rooney advice if the United youngster needs it.

"Obviously, if Wayne wanted to talk to me about that, he would," he said. "We're good enough friends and team-mates. But he has Sir Alex Ferguson, a man who he'll be talking to and will respect, to speak about these things.

"And Fabio Capello, who is one of the most successful managers in football."

Beckham described a first-hand insight into the passion that Rooney feels towards winning.

He added: "With Wayne Rooney, you don't get the exceptional talent and player you have without that side of his game. If you take that side out of his game, he becomes a different player, a different animal. You don't want to take that out of him.

"Sometimes it flows over. He's done it a few times with myself. It happens. He knows it's not right, I know it's not right, but it happens. You don't want to take that out of him."