betanicom | David Beckham

David Beckham (born May 2, 1975, Leytonstone, London, England) is an English former football (soccer) player who gained international fame for his on-field play as well as for his highly publicized personal life. With Manchester United, Beckham developed into one of the sport’s elite competitors, perhaps best known for his free kicks and crosses. He later played for the clubs Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy, AC Milan, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) before retiring as a player in 2013. Beckham remained involved with the sport thereafter, becoming a co-owner of several clubs, including Inter Miami CF and Salford City FC.

betanicom - Club play

Beckham was born to Sandra Georgina (née West) and David Edward Alan (Ted) Beckham. His parents were ardent Manchester United supporters who regularly traveled the 200 miles (320 km) from London to Old Trafford in Manchester for matches and instilled in Beckham a lifelong passion for the club. Beckham was given the middle name Robert in honor of his father’s idol, Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton. At age 11 Beckham won a football contest organized by the Bobby Charlton Soccer & Sports Academy, leading to Charlton recommending him to Manchester United. Beckham signed schoolboy forms (a nonbinding agreement between a minor and a professional club) with Manchester United on his 14th birthday and on July 8, 1991, at age 16, entered the club’s official youth training program.

Beckham was part of a talented Manchester United youth squad that included future star players Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, and Paul Scholes and won the national-level Football Association (FA) Youth Cup in 1992. Beckham made his first-team debut for Manchester United in September 1992 and signed a professional contract with the club in January 1993. He scored his first goal for Manchester United in November 1994 during his Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League debut match against the Turkish team Galatasaray. Beckham spent part of the 1994–95 season on loan to Preston North End FC before making his English Premier League (EPL) debut in April 1995. Beckham scored his first EPL goal against Aston Villa FC in the first league match of the 1995–96 season. He scored eight goals during the campaign and helped Manchester United win the league title and the senior FA Cup.

Britannica Quiz

Great Moments in Sports Quiz

Beckham attracted national attention on the opening day of the 1996–97 season when he scored a goal from the halfway line (a feat achieved by a handful of footballers including England’s Wayne Rooney and Brazilian legend Rivaldo, roughly equivalent to a golfer’s hole in one). In 1997–98 Manchester United successfully defended its league title, and Beckham was voted Young Player of the Year. In the 1998–99 season Manchester United became the first English club to achieve the continental treble by winning the league title, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. Considered one of the sport’s elite players, Beckham became known for his corners, free kicks, and crosses; the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham was named in homage to his kicking ability. During his stint with Manchester United’s youth and senior teams that lasted over a decade, Beckham made 394 appearances across domestic and European competitions and scored 85 goals and 121 assists.

After helping Manchester United win three more league titles (2000, 2001, and 2003), he joined the Spanish football club Real Madrid in July 2003. His signing was part of the club’s Galácticos era, a project under club president Florentino Pérez to assemble a squad of the world’s best-known and most marketable footballers at the time. Beckham joined several global football icons including Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, Ronaldo Nazário, Roberto Carlos, and Raúl González at the club. Though Real Madrid struggled with inconsistency and managerial changes during the next four years, Beckham remained a regular starter and a commercially influential figure at the club. He was part of the team that won the Spanish Super Cup in August 2003 and the 2006–07 La Liga title.

In January 2007 Beckham announced that he would leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, six months later. He signed a five-year deal worth $250 million (including endorsements), which was considered record-setting at the time, with the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) club Los Angeles Galaxy. In October 2008 Beckham signed to play with Italian football club AC Milan during the MLS offseason. He helped the Galaxy win two MLS Cup titles (2011 and 2012) before leaving the club in December 2012. In January 2013 he joined the French first-league team Paris Saint-Germain. The team won the French domestic title that season, following which Beckham retired from playing football in the summer of 2013.

International career

In 1996 Beckham first played on England’s national team in a World Cup qualifying match. At the 1998 World Cup he drew harsh criticism and fan backlash after he was shown a red card and ejected from a round-of-16 match against Argentina. Beckham kicked opposing player Diego Simeone after the latter had fouled him. England subsequently 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 caps (games played).

Access for the whole family!

Bundle Britannica Premium and Kids for the ultimate resource destination.

Subscribe

Other activities

After his playing days ended, Beckham remained involved in football. In February 2014 MLS announced that Beckham had exercised an option from his Los Angeles Galaxy deal to purchase a franchise for $25 million. The former footballer led an ownership group with the intention of establishing a Miami-based club that would begin playing in 2016 or 2017. However, delays in securing a stadium deal postponed the project until January 2018, when MLS officially approved the franchise. In September 2018 the team’s name was revealed as Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, commonly known as Inter Miami CF. The club made its MLS debut on March 1, 2020. In 2023, while serving as club president, Beckham helped Inter Miami sign Argentine superstar and 2022 FIFA World Cup champion Lionel Messi. The club won its first MLS Cup the same year.

In January 2019 Beckham joined his former Manchester United teammates as part-owner of non-league English football club Salford City, acquiring a 10 percent stake in the club from Singapore-based businessman Peter Lim. After the English Football Association approved the deal, Beckham was formally appointed as a director of the club in the same month. In May 2025 Beckham and Gary Neville were part of a new consortium that acquired the club and took charge of its operations.

Personal life: Family and knighthood

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. The couple have four children: sons Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz and daughter Harper. Beckham released an eponymous memoir in 2014. In 2023 Netflix released a four-part docuseries titled Beckham, featuring the footballer’s personal and professional life.

In 2003 Beckham was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In June 2025 he received a knighthood in British monarch King Charles III’s Birthday Honours List. Beckham was formally knighted during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in November 2025.