Beckham, David

David Beckham, in full David Robert Joseph Beckham, (born May 2, 1975, Leytonstone, East London, England), English football (soccer) player who gained international fame for his on-field play as well as for his highly publicized personal life.

At age 11 Beckham won a football contest, and as a teenager he competed on Manchester United’s youth squad, leading it to a national championship in 1992. Three years later he began playing with the professional team in league competition, and during the 1995–96 season he helped Manchester United win the league title and the Football Association (FA) Cup. Beckham attracted national attention in August 1996 when he scored a goal from the halfway line (a feat roughly equivalent to a golfer’s hole in one). The following year Manchester United successfully defended its league title, and Beckham was voted Young Player of the Year. In the 1998–99 season Manchester United won the league title, the FA Cup, and the European Cup. Beckham was named best midfielder and Most Valuable Player. Considered one of the sport’s elite players, he was perhaps best known for his free kicks and crosses; the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham paid homage to his kicking ability. After helping Manchester United win three more league titles (2000, 2001, and 2003), he left the team in 2003 to join the Spanish football club Real Madrid. Four years later he signed a record-setting deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. In October 2008 Beckham signed to play with Italian football powerhouse AC Milan during the MLS off-season. In 2011 he helped the Galaxy win an MLS Cup title. The Galaxy won a second MLS Cup title in 2012, and Beckham left the team at the end of the season. In 2013 he joined the French first-league team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and PSG won the French domestic title in his one season with the team. Beckham retired from football soon after winning his championship with PSG.

In 1996 Beckham first played on England’s national team, in a World Cup qualifying match. At the 1998 World Cup he drew much criticism after he was ejected from a game for kicking an opponent. England lost the match and was eliminated from the competition. In 2000 Beckham was made captain of the national team. At the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, England was defeated in the quarterfinals. After the 2006 tournament, Beckham stepped down as captain, and he was later dropped from England’s national team. He was recalled to the team in 2007, and the following year he posted his 100th international appearance, becoming the fifth person to do so in the history of English football. Beckham was poised to be the first Englishman to appear in four World Cups, but he tore his Achilles tendon while playing for AC Milan in March 2010 and was ruled out for the 2010 tournament. A healthy but older Beckham was not selected for the English side at the 2012 European Championship, and he finished his national career with 115 international games played, the most in his country’s history for a non-goalkeeper.

After his playing days ended, Beckham remained involved in soccer. He notably was the owner and president of the MLS team Inter Miami CF, which made its debut in 2020.

David and Victoria Beckham

In 1999 Beckham married singer Victoria Adams, best known as “Posh Spice” of the Spice Girls pop group, in a lavish ceremony. The intense media attention to the couple increased Beckham’s popularity around the world, as did his style of dress and ever-changing hairstyles. In 2003 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He released an eponymous memoir in 2014.