Icons of sport: David Beckham

What is David Beckham best known for?

In case you didn't know. Who is David Beckham?

He is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending free-kicks as a right winger, Beckham has been hailed as one of the greatest and most recognisable midfielders of his generation, as well as one of the best set-piece specialists of all time. He is the first English player to win league titles in four countries: England, Spain, the United States and France.

Start of his career and development with Manchester United

Beckham's professional club career began with Manchester United, where he made his first-team debut in 1992 at age 17.  During the 1994/1995 season, he spent a period on loan at Preston North End. Beckham often talks about this being an important part of his development as a player.

With United, he won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. This video below explores some of his best Manchester United goals. His best one was arguably a long range shot against Wimbledon in 1996.

Move to Real Madrid and then the end of his career

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 LA Galaxy. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with AC Milan in 2009 and 2010. He was the first British footballer to play 100 UEFA Champions League games. He retired in May 2013 after a 20-year career, during which he won 19 major trophies.

International career

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. He made 115 career appearances in total, appearing at three FIFA World Cup tournaments, in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and two UEFA European Championship tournaments, in 2000 and 2004. He held the England appearance record for an outfield player until 2016. One of his greatest and most important goals came against Greece in 2001.

Becoming an icon

A global ambassador of football, Beckham is considered to be a British cultural icon. He was runner-up in the Ballon d'Or in 1999, twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year (1999 and 2001). In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021. He has been a UNICEF UK ambassador since 2005, and in 2015 he launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund.

Personal life

He has been married to Victoria Beckham since 1999, and they have four children. In 2014, MLS announced that Beckham and a group of investors would own Inter Miami CF, which began playing in 2020.