Never in the history of world football has one player had a lasting impression on fans like David Beckham did. Wherever he went, he had a strong followership and for 20 years, he thrilled fans with immense skill and dexterity. The former England captain made 115 appearances for his country and 394 for Manchester United, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League before winning titles in Spain, U.S and France with Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and  Paris St-Germain. Using agency report, ADEYINKA ADEDIPE profiles the iconic player who was not only popular on the football pitch but outside it.

Born May 2, 1975, David Robert Joseph Beckham (OBE) played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, Los Angeles Galaxy, French Ligue 1 club, Paris Saint-Germain, and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player. He is also the first English player to win league titles in four countries. He announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2012/13 Ligue 1 season on May 16, 2013.

Beckham’s professional career began with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. With United, Beckham won six Premier League titles, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He then played four seasons with Real Madrid, winning the La Liga championship in his final season with the club. In July 2007, Beckham signed a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club, Los Angeles Galaxy. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with AC Milan in 2009 and 2010.

In international football, Beckham made his England debut on September 1, 1996 at the age of 21. He was captain for six years during which he played 58 times. He has 115 career appearances.

Beckham has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year and in 2004 was the world’s highest-paid footballer when taking into account salary and advertising deals. Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches. When he joined the MLS in 2007, he was given the highest player salary in the league’s history of US$6.5m per year.

He is married to Victoria Beckham and they have four children. In 2009, the couple’s joint wealth was estimated at £125 million.

Club career

Manchester United

Beckham was part of a group of young players who guided the club to win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, with Beckham scoring in the second leg of the final against Crystal Palace. He made his first appearance for United’s first-team that year, as a substitute in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion, and signed his first professional contract shortly afterwards.

On December 7, 1994, Beckham made his UEFA Champions League debut, scoring a goal in a 4–0 victory at home to Galatasaray in the final game of the group stage. However, this victory was of little use as they finished third out of four in their group behind FC Barcelona on goal difference.

He then went to Preston North End on loan for part of the 1994/95 season to get some first team experience. He impressed, scoring two goals in five appearances, notably scoring directly from a corner kick.

Beckham returned to Manchester and finally made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on April 2, 1995, in a goalless draw against Leeds United. He played four times for United in the league that season, as they finished second behind Blackburn Rovers and missed a third successive Premier League title by a single point. He was not in the squad for United’s FA Cup final clash with Everton on May 20, which they lost 1–0 and were left without a major trophy for the first time since 1989.

In the 1998/99 season, he was part of the United team that won The Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football.

To ensure they would win the Premier League title, United needed to win their final league match of the season, at home to Tottenham Hotspur (with reports suggesting that the opposition would allow themselves to be easily beaten to prevent their deadly local rivals Arsenal from retaining the title), but Tottenham took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored the equaliser and United went on to win the match and the league.

Beckham played in the centre of midfield in United’s win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, since United’s first string centre-midfielders Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were suspended for the match. United were losing the match 1–0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in injury time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham. Those crucial performances, coupled with great performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up to Rivaldo for 1999’s European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

Beckham helped United retain the Premier League title in 1999/2000 by an 18-point margin – after being pushed by Arsenal and Leeds United for much of the season; United won their final 11 league games of the season, with Beckham scoring five goals during this fantastic run of form. He managed six league goals that season, and scored eight goals in all competitions.

By the early 2000s, the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham had begun to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham’s fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, Beckham was given permission to miss training to look after his son, Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis, but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night, claiming that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day. He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks’ wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United’s rivals, Leeds United.

He was a key player in United’s third successive league title in 2000/01 – only the fourth time that any club had achieved three league titles in a row. He scored nine goals that season, all in the Premier League.

Following an injury early in the 2002/03 season, Beckham was unable to regain his place on the Manchester United team, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replacing him on the right side of midfield. His relationship with his manager deteriorated further on February 15, 2003 when, in the changing room following an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, a furious Alex Ferguson kicked a boot that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches.

The incident led to a great deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with bookmakers offering odds on whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club. Although the team started the season badly, their results improved greatly from December onwards and they won the league, with Beckham managing a total of 11 goals in 52 games in all competitions.

He was still a first-choice player for England, however, and was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to football on June 13, 2003.

At this point, Beckham had made 265 Premier league appearances for United and scored 61 goals. He also made 81 Champions league appearances, scoring 15 goals. Beckham won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one European Cup, one Intercontinental Cup, and one FA Youth Cup in the space of 12 years. He was their joint second longest serving player behind Ryan Giggs (having joined them at the same time as Nicky Butt, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes).

Real Madrid

As the summer 2003 transfer window approached, Manchester United appeared keen to sell Beckham to Barcelona and the two clubs even announced that they reached a deal for Beckham’s transfer, but instead he joined reigning Spanish champions Real Madrid for €35 million on a four-year contract as the latest of the galáctico signings by club president Florentino Pérez.

In the week before Beckham presentation, Real named Carlos Queiroz as their new head coach, meaning that Beckham got reunited with a familiar face upon arriving Madrid, since Queiroz spent the previous season as Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United.

Shortly after his Real switch, Beckham also ended his relationship with agent Tony Stephens of SFX Europe, who had guided him through his career up until this point, including helping to engineer Beckham’s move from Manchester to Madrid. Beckham signed on with Simon Fuller and his company, 19 Entertainment that already managed the career of David’s wife Victoria. Beckham also appointed close friend, Terry Byrne to be his personal manager

In late August 2003, Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup over two legs versus RCD Mallorca, with Beckham scoring the final goal in a 3–0 return leg win at home, thus setting the stage for the start of the league season. Real Madrid were runners-up in the Copa del Rey, were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter-final stage and finished the league season in fourth place, meaning the team, whose president, Pérez expected to win either the Spanish league or the Champions League each season, did not meet expectations.

In July 2004, the league season began with new head coach José Antonio Camacho behind the bench, but he ended up lasting only three matches, handing in his resignation as Real dropped to eighth spot in the La Liga standings. Camacho’s assistant Mariano García Remón took over on temporary basis as Real leadership scrambled to find a permanent replacement.

Beckham made more headlines on October 9, 2004 when he admitted intentionally fouling Ben Thatcher in an England match against Wales in order to get himself booked.

Beckham was due to receive a one-match suspension for his next caution, and had picked up an injury, which he knew would keep him out of England’s next match, so he deliberately fouled Thatcher in order to serve his suspension in a match that he would have had to miss anyway.

The Football Association asked Beckham for an explanation for his actions and he admitted that he had “made a mistake” and apologised. By Christmas of 2004, with the team sitting in second league spot, García Remón was gone, as Vanderlei Luxemburgo became the new head coach. However, the well-travelled Brazilian failed to inspire the team to the title, as Real again finished the season in the runner-up spot.

On December 3, 2005, Beckham was sent off for the third time that season in a league match against Getafe CF. A day later, Luxemburgo got the axe and was replaced with Juan Ramón López Caro. By the end of that season, Beckham led La Liga in number of assists.

On 10 January 2007, after prolonged contract negotiations, Real Madrid’s sporting director, Predrag Mijatovi? announced that Beckham would not remain at Real Madrid after the end of the season. However, he later claimed that he was misquoted and that he actually said that Beckham’s contract had not yet been renewed.

On January 11, 2007, Beckham announced that he had signed a five-year deal to play for Los Angeles Galaxy, beginning 1 July 2007. A month after the conclusion of Beckham’s Real career, Forbes magazine reported that he had been the party primarily responsible for the team’s huge increase in merchandise sales, a total reported to top US$600 million during Beckham’s four years at the club.

Los Angeles Galaxy

Beckham’s involvement with Major League Soccer began while he was still a Real Madrid player, when it was confirmed on January 11, 2007 that the world’s most famous footballer would be leaving Madrid in six months to join MLS’ Los Angeles Galaxy. The speculation about his new contract in Madrid was thus put to an end and the following day Beckham’s official press conference took place in conjunction with the 2007 MLS Super Draft.

Predictably, the announcement made top news all across the globe. Though, many worldwide media outlets reported the deal to be worth US$250 million, the astronomical figure was soon revealed to be something of a PR stunt engineered by Beckham’s media handlers, 19 Entertainment. In order to maximise the media effect, in the press release, they decided to list the potential sum that Beckham could make over the 5-year period from all his revenue sources, which in addition to his Galaxy pay also include his personal endorsements. Beckham’s actual deal with the Galaxy was a 5-year contract worth US$32.5 million in total or $6.5 million per year.

The high-profile acquisition paid immediate financial dividends for Galaxy long before Beckham joined the team. On the strength of the signing and the media frenzy it created, the club was able to pull off a new 5-year shirt sponsorship deal with Herbalife nutrition company worth US$20 million. The gate revenue peaked as well with 11,000 new season tickets holders and sold-out luxury suites (each one of the 42 inside the team’s home ground, the Home Depot Center). Even the LA Galaxy owners, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) saw an immediate spike in business.

On July 12, despite still nursing the injured left ankle that he picked up a month earlier during the final match of La Liga’s season, Beckham made his Galaxy debut, coming on for Alan Gordon in the 78th minute of a 0–1 friendly loss to Chelsea as part of the World Series of Soccer. The match’s added time featured a scare for already injured Beckham when he got tackled by Steve Sidwell, whose cleats struck Beckham’s right foot, sending him airborne before he crumpled hard to the ground. Though the existing injury was not aggravated, Beckham’s recovery process was set back by about a week. ESPN’s presentation of Beckham’s debut earned a 1.0 TV rating, meaning it was seen in an average of 947,000 television homes in the US – a disappointing figure given the national media buzz and two weeks of constant promotion by ESPN. For comparison, ESPN2’s weekly MLS broadcasts on Thursdays drew a consistent 0.2 rating on virtually no promotion, while Freddy Adu’s MLS debut televised on ABC back in 2004 earned a 1.3 rating.

Beckham trained with Arsenal from January 4, 2008 for three weeks, until he returned to the Galaxy for pre-season training. Beckham scored his first league goal with the Galaxy on April 3 against the San Jose Earthquakes in the ninth minute. On May 24, 2008, the Galaxy defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3–1, giving the Galaxy their first winning record in two years and moving the club into first place in the Western Conference. In the match, Beckham scored an empty-net goal from 70 yards out. The goal marked the second time in Beckham’s career that he had scored from his own half, the other being a 1996 goal from the half-way line against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park. Overall, however, the Galaxy had a disappointing year, failing to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs.

While stlll a Galaxy player, Beckham went on loan twice to AC Milan in 2009 and 2010.

MLS Cup Champion

Beckham finished his fifth MLS season on a high. On November 20, 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup against Houston Dynamo, winning 1–0 on a goal by captain Landon Donovan, with support from Beckham and fellow designated player, Robbie Keane. Had it been Beckham’s final match for the Galaxy, it would have been the third time he has won a league championship in his final match for a club, repeating the feat he accomplished with Manchester United in 2003 and Real Madrid in 2007.

Following the 2011 season, in which the Galaxy won their second consecutive Supporters’ Shield, having the second most points in MLS history, Beckham’s five-year contract with the Galaxy expired on December 31, 2011. Despite being 36, he stated that he did not intend to retire. Beckham was heavily linked with Paris Saint-Germain, but on January 28, 2012, Galaxy announced Beckham had signed a new two-year contract to remain in Los Angeles.

However, Beckham quit Galaxy despite having another year remaining on his contract.

Paris Saint-Germain And Retirement

On January 31, 2013, ahead of the transfer deadline, it was announced that Beckham would be undergoing a medical with Paris Saint-Germain, ahead of a potential move to the Ligue 1 side. He signed a five-month deal with the club later that afternoon and confirmed that his entire salary during his time in Paris would be donated to a local children’s charity.

His Paris Saint Germain debut came on February 24, 2013, when he came off the bench in the 76th minute in a Ligue 1 home match against Olympique Marseille. This made him the 400th player in the history of the club. On May 12, 2013, Beckham won a fourth different top flight winners’ medal after PSG beat Lyon 1–0 to claim the Ligue 1 title.

On May 16, 2013, Beckham announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of that year’s French football season.

International career

Beckham made his first appearance for the England national football team on September 1, 1996 in a World Cup qualifying match against Moldova.

He had played in all of England’s qualifying matches for the 1998 World Cup and was part of the England squad at the World Cup finals in France. He scored from a long-range free kick in a 2–0 victory, which was his first goal for England against Columbia in the final group game.

In the second round (last 16) of that competition, he received a red card in England’s match against Argentina.

Beckham, after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone while lying on the floor, striking him on the calf muscle. He also scored in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup but missed the 2010 due to injury.

Beckham was named in the provisional squad to represent the Great Britain Olympic football team at the 2012 Olympics. He was not included in the final selection by manager Stuart Pearce. Hs final game for England was against Belarus on October 14, 2009 in a World Cup qualifier.