As David Beckham announces his retirement from football, we look back at his glittering career.
Nearly 20 years after breaking into the Manchester United team, the 38-year-old former England captain David Beckham has announced his retirement from football less than a week after winning the French league title with Paris Saint-Germain [GETTY]
Published On 17 May 201317 May 2013
"I(***)m thankful to PSG for giving me the opportunity to continue but I feel now is the right time to finish my career, playing at the highest level," said the midfielder, whose final match will be against FC Lorient on May 26 [AFP]
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Beckham earned 115 caps for England, a record for an outfield player, and won the Champions League, six Premier League titles and two FA Cups with Manchester United. He also won league titles with Real Madrid in Spain, LA Galaxy in the United States and, most recently, PSG in France [AFP]
With his trademark free kicks, global commercial appeal and marriage to a pop star, Beckham(***)s passion for the game – and in particular England – held firm. He even had a film (***)Bend it like Beckham(***) named after him [AFP]
London-born Beckham(***)s career started at his boyhood club, Manchester United, where he made his first team appearance at the age of 17 in 1992 [GETTY]
He went on to help the team win a Premier League-FA Cup double in 1996, and another English title again a year later [GETTY]
But he lost the love of the fans a year later when he received a red card for kicking Diego Simeone in England(***)s second-round match against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup [GETTY]
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Things looked up in 1999 when Man United won the Champions League – Premier League – FA Cup treble and then in 1999 he became England captain, going on to skipper his country for six years at play at three World Cups [GETTY]
Shattering a lifelong dream, Beckham leaves Man United in 2003 to join Real Madrid after a wayward boot kicked by Alex Ferguson hits Beckham in the eye. Beckham wins the Primera Division title four years later [GETTY]
Beckham moved to Los Angeles in 2007 in a big money move that was seen as a coup for the fledgling American league, and won two MLS Cup titles with LA Galaxy. He also spent two loan spells at Milan and then returned to Europe in January this year, when he signed a short-term deal with PSG [AFP]
He(***)s a global celebrity with never-ending potential for lucrative endorsements. But at the end of the day Beckham remains faithful to his first love: "I just want people to see me as a hard-working footballer, someone with passion for the game and every time I stepped onto the pitch, I(***)ve given everything I have, because that(***)s how I feel." [AFP]
