David Beckham

David Beckham
OBE
Beckham in 2014
Born (1975-05-02) 2 May 1975 (age 49)
London, England
Occupations
Organisation(s)UNICEF, Malaria No More[1]
AgentSimon Fuller (XIX Entertainment)
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2][3][4]
Spouse
​
(m. 1999)​
Children4, including Brooklyn and Romeo
RelativesNicola Peltz (daughter-in-law)
Association football career
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Ridgeway Rovers
1987–1991 Tottenham Hotspur
1989–1991 → Brimsdown Rovers (loan)
1991–1994 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–2003 Manchester United 265 (62)
1995 → Preston North End (loan) 5 (2)
2003–2007 Real Madrid 116 (13)
2007–2012 LA Galaxy 98 (18)
2009 → AC Milan (loan) 18 (2)
2010 → AC Milan (loan) 11 (0)
2013 Paris Saint-Germain 10 (0)
Total 523 (97)
International career
1992–1993 England U18 3 (0)
1994–1996 England U21 9 (0)
1996–2009 England 115 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Websitedavidbeckham.com

David Robert Joseph Beckham OBE (/ˈbɛkəm/ BEK-əm;[5] born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City.[6] Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, crossing ability and free-kick taking, Beckham has been hailed as one of the greatest and most recognisable midfielders of his generation, as well as one of the best free-kick takers of all time.[7][8][9] He won 19 major trophies in his career, and is the first English player to win league titles in four different countries: England, Spain, the United States and France.[10]

Beckham's professional club career began with Manchester United, where he made his first-team debut in 1992 at age 17.[11] With United, he won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, the FA Charity Shield twice, the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.[11] He then played four seasons with Real Madrid,[12] winning the La Liga championship in his final season with the club.[13] In July 2007, Beckham signed a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy.[14] While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with AC Milan in 2009 and 2010. He became the first British footballer to play 100 UEFA Champions League games.[11] Following a four-month stint at Paris Saint-Germain, he retired in May 2013 after a 20-year career.[15]

In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996, at the age of 21. He was captain for six years, earning 58 caps during his tenure.[16][17] He made 115 career appearances in total, appearing at three FIFA World Cups in 1998, 2002 and 2006 as well as two UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004. Beckham held the England appearance record for an outfield player until 2016.

A global ambassador of football, Beckham is considered a British cultural icon.[18][19] He has been in a well publicised marriage to Victoria Beckham since 1999 and was consistently ranked among the highest earners in football, in 2013 being listed as the highest-paid player in the world having earned over $50 million in the previous twelve months.[20][21] Beckham was runner-up in the Ballon d'Or in 1999, twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year (1999 and 2001) and in 2004 was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.[22][23][24] He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.[25] He has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2005, and in 2015 he launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund.[26] In 2014, MLS announced that Beckham and a group of investors would own Inter Miami, which began playing in 2020.[27]

  1. ^ "Malaria No More". malarianomore.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  2. ^ "David Beckham". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013.
  3. ^ "David Beckham: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  4. ^ "David Beckham". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  5. ^ Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, ISBN 9781405881180
  6. ^ "David Beckham: Salford City directorship approved by Football Association". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  7. ^ Hughes, Matt (16 May 2013). "David Beckham was one of best and most significant footballers of his generation". The Times. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  8. ^ Lara, Lorenzo; Mogollo, Álvaro; Wilson, Emily (20 September 2018). "Messi and the other best freekick takers in football history". Marca. Spain. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Ranked! The 101 greatest football players of the last 25 years: full list". FourFourTwo (253 ed.). 13 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  10. ^ "David Beckham: his club and international career in stats". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  11. ^ a b c "Los Angeles Galaxy: Player bio". LA Galaxy. 9 September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
  12. ^ "Beckham joins Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 18 September 2003. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
  13. ^ "Beckham bows out with Liga title". BBC Sport. 17 June 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
  14. ^ Bandini, Paolo (11 January 2007). "Beckham confirms LA Galaxy move". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  15. ^ "David Beckham wears captain's armband, adds assist for PSG in likely career finale – Yahoo! Sports". Yahoo!. 18 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Beckham's England dream realised". BBC Sport. 10 November 2000. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
  17. ^ "Beckham quits as England captain". BBC Sport. 2 July 2006. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
  18. ^ "Shakespeare 'a cultural icon' abroad". BBC News. 14 November 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  19. ^ Savell Reavis, Tracey (2014). The Life and Career of David Beckham: Football Legend, Cultural Icon. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 158, 175.
  20. ^ "The World's Best-Paid Soccer Players". Forbes. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 18 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  21. ^ "David Beckham kids named most stylish celebrity children in the world – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". The Belfast Telegraph. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  22. ^ Daniel, Taylor (16 May 2013). "David Beckham exits as gracefully as one of his arcing crosses". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  23. ^ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  24. ^ "David Beckham, Great Britain". ESPN. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  25. ^ "2021 Inductees". Premier League. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNICEF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (5 February 2014). "Soccer star David Beckham to bring MLS team to Miami". The Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 5 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.