1. David Robert Joseph Beckham is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City.
175 Facts About David Beckham
1. 2.
Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, crossing ability and free-kick taking, Beckham is considered one of the best players of his generation, one of the greatest players in Premier League history and one of the best free-kick takers of all time.
3.
David Beckham won 19 major trophies in his career, and is the first English player to win league titles in four different countries: England, Spain, the United States and France.
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David Beckham then played four seasons with Real Madrid, winning the La Liga title in his final season with the club.
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In July 2007, David Beckham signed a five-year contract with Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy; it was widely cited as a historic transfer for football in America.
6.
David Beckham returned to Galaxy and won the MLS Cup in 2011 and 2012.
7.
In international football, David Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996, at the age of 21.
8.
David Beckham was captain for six years, earning 58 caps during his tenure.
9.
David Beckham made 115 career appearances in total, appearing at three FIFA World Cups in 1998,2002 and 2006 as well as two UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004.
10.
David Beckham held the England appearance record for an outfield player until 2016.
11.
David Beckham has been in a well publicised marriage to Victoria Beckham since 1999 and was consistently ranked among the highest earners in football, in 2013 being listed as the highest-paid player in the world having earned over in the previous twelve months.
12.
David Beckham was runner-up in the Ballon d'Or in 1999, twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year and in 2004 was named by Pele in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
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David Beckham was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.
14.
David Beckham has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2005, and in 2015 he launched 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund.
15.
David Robert Joseph Beckham was born on 2 May 1975 at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London, England.
16.
David Beckham is the son of Sandra Georgina, a hairdresser, and David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham, a kitchen fitter; the couple married in 1969 in the London Borough of Hackney.
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David Beckham was given the middle name Robert in honour of Bobby Charlton, his father's favourite footballer.
18.
David Beckham has an older sister, Lynne Georgina, and a younger sister, Joanne Louise.
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David Beckham has referred to himself as "half Jewish" and wrote in his autobiography "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion".
20.
David Beckham's parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who frequently travelled 200 miles to Old Trafford from London to attend the team's home matches.
21.
David Beckham inherited his parents' love of Manchester United, and his main sporting passion was football.
22.
David Beckham attended one of Bobby Charlton's Soccer Schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session with Barcelona, as part of a talent competition.
23.
David Beckham played for a local youth team called Ridgeway Rovers, which was coached by his father, Stuart Underwood, and Steve Kirby.
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David Beckham was a Manchester United mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986.
25.
Young David Beckham had trials with his local club Leyton Orient, Norwich City and attended Tottenham Hotspur's school of excellence, though never represented the club in a match.
26.
David Beckham attended Chingford County High School in Nevin Drive, Chingford.
27.
David Beckham attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his 14th birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991.
28.
Shortly afterwards, David Beckham signed as a professional on 23 January 1993.
29.
David Beckham received honours with the club's reserve team when the squad won the league in 1994.
30.
In September 1994, David Beckham made his first full appearance in the club's first team against Port Vale in a League Cup fixture.
31.
David Beckham scored two goals in five appearances, notably directly from a corner kick.
32.
David Beckham returned to Manchester and made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on 2 April 1995 in a goalless draw against Leeds United.
33.
David Beckham played four times for United in the league that season, as they finished second behind Blackburn Rovers, missing out on a third successive Premier League title by a single point.
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David Beckham was part of a group of young talents Ferguson brought into United in the 1990s, which included Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville.
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David Beckham swiftly established himself as United's right-sided midfielder and helped them to win the Premier League title and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and providing the corner from which Eric Cantona scored in the FA Cup Final.
36.
On 17 August 1996, David Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon.
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David Beckham had the most assists in the league with 13, while his nine Premier League goals included a free kick from the edge of the 18-yard box against Manchester United's arch rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
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David Beckham played in central midfield in United's win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, as United's first-choice centre-midfielders Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were suspended for the match.
39.
David Beckham responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted and dropping him for a crucial match against United's rivals Leeds United.
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David Beckham later criticised Beckham for this in his autobiography, claiming he had not been "fair to his teammates" Beckham had a good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin.
41.
David Beckham was never a problem until he got married.
42.
David Beckham used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad.
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David Beckham is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part.
44.
David Beckham scored nine Premier League goals, and had the most assists in the league with 12.
45.
On 10 April 2002, David Beckham was injured during a Champions League match against Deportivo de La Coruna, breaking the second metatarsal bone in his left foot.
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David Beckham was still a first-choice player for England and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List he was appointed an OBE for services to football on 13 June 2003.
47.
David Beckham had made 265 Premier league appearances for United and scored 62 goals.
48.
David Beckham made 81 Champions league appearances, scoring 15 goals.
49.
David Beckham won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, two FA Charity Shields, one European Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FA Youth Cup in the space of twelve years.
50.
David Beckham is a man of our times and a symbol of modern-day stardom and what is certain is Real Madrid have signed Beckham because he's a great footballer and a very dedicated professional.
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David Beckham was the latest signing in the Galacticos era of global stars signed by club president Florentino Perez every summer.
52.
David Beckham decided to wear number 23 instead, citing his admiration of basketball player Michael Jordan, who wore number 23.
53.
On sales of David Beckham-related merchandise following his arrival at Real, an Adidas spokesman stated: "Put David Beckham's name on any product and Real Madrid didn't stop selling".
54.
The presence of a global marketing icon such as David Beckham made this particular tour a financial smash for los Merengues.
55.
Shortly after his transfer to Real, David Beckham ended his relationship with agent Tony Stephens of SFX Europe, who had guided him through his career until that point, including helping to engineer David Beckham's move from Manchester to Madrid.
56.
David Beckham signed on with Simon Fuller and his company 19 Entertainment, which already managed the career of Victoria.
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David Beckham appointed close friend Terry Byrne to be his personal manager.
58.
In July 2004, while David Beckham was in pre-season training in Spain, an intruder scaled a wall at the David Beckham home while carrying a can of petrol.
59.
David Beckham made more headlines on 9 October 2004 when he admitted intentionally fouling Ben Thatcher in an England match against Wales to get himself booked.
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David 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 to serve his suspension in a match that he would have had to miss anyway.
61.
David Beckham was sent off shortly afterwards, this time in a league match for Real Madrid against Valencia.
62.
On 3 December 2005, David Beckham was sent off for the third time that season in a league match against Getafe.
63.
However, he later claimed that he was mistranslated and that he actually said that David Beckham's contract had not yet been renewed.
64.
On 11 January 2007, David Beckham announced that he had signed a five-year deal to play for the LA Galaxy, beginning 1 July 2007.
65.
On 13 January 2007, Fabio Capello said that David Beckham had played his last game for Real Madrid, although he continued to train with the team.
66.
About a month later Capello backtracked on his earlier statement, allowing David Beckham to rejoin the team for the match against Real Sociedad on 10 February 2007.
67.
David Beckham played a pivotal role in all three Madrid goals in the home game, with Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn describing his performance as "world class".
68.
Towards the end of the season, as David Beckham was getting back into Capello's good books after successfully fighting his way back into the first team, Real Madrid announced they would try to untie his transfer to LA Galaxy, but were ultimately unsuccessful.
69.
Several weeks before David Beckham's scheduled arrival in the United States, Real's management contacted LA Galaxy's ownership group about reacquiring the player, but were quickly turned down.
70.
David Beckham's actual deal with the Galaxy was a five-year contract worth in total or per year.
71.
The high-profile acquisition paid immediate financial dividends for Galaxy long before David Beckham joined the team.
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The company's CEO Tim Leiweke put it as follows: "Suddenly, we're known as the company that owns the team that David Beckham is going to play for, so our world changed".
73.
David Beckham made the cover of Sports Illustrated, a few weeks earlier Adidas launched the extensive 13-part ad campaign "Futbol meets Football" starring Beckham and NFL running back Reggie Bush, and W magazine published a racy photo spread featuring David and wife Victoria photographed by Steven Klein.
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That night Victoria's reality show prime-time special Victoria David Beckham: Coming to America aired on NBC, drawing negative reviews in the press and poor viewership ratings.
75.
The next match on the road trip was at New England Revolution and David Beckham decided to sit it out, fearing further aggravating his ankle injury on the Gillette Stadium's artificial surface.
76.
David Beckham scored his first goal for the team, from a free kick, and made his first assist, for Landon Donovan in the second half.
77.
David Beckham returned to play in the final home match of the season.
78.
David Beckham played as a substitute in the match, bringing his season totals to eight matches played ; one goal scored ; and three assists.
79.
David Beckham trained with Arsenal from 4 January 2008 for three weeks, until he returned to the Galaxy for pre-season training.
80.
On 30 October 2008, AC Milan announced that David Beckham was to join them on loan from 7 January 2009.
81.
David Beckham was unveiled at Milan's training facility by the club's chief executive Adriano Galliani on 20 December 2008.
82.
The day after his unveiling, David Beckham was brought to the San Siro, where he was introduced to the home fans by walking out on the pitch before the league match versus Udinese and proclaiming "Forza Milan" over the public address system.
83.
David Beckham is slower but much stronger tactically and technically.
84.
The rumours were confirmed on 4 February, when David Beckham stated that he was seeking a permanent transfer to Milan, in a bid to sustain his England career through the 2010 World Cup.
85.
On 16 February 2010, David Beckham played against Manchester United for the first time since he left the club in 2003.
86.
David Beckham returned to Old Trafford for the second leg of the tie on 10 March 2010; he did not start the match, but was brought on for Ignazio Abate in the 64th minute to a positive reception from the Manchester United fans.
87.
In Milan's next game, against Chievo, David Beckham suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, causing him to miss the World Cup as well as the MLS season due to the injury, which took him out of action for the next five months.
88.
David Beckham was heavily linked with Paris Saint-Germain, but on 18 January 2012, Galaxy announced David Beckham had signed a new two-year contract to remain in Los Angeles.
89.
David Beckham helped the Galaxy to a fourth-place finish in the Western Conference during the 2012 regular season, with David Beckham scoring seven goals and adding nine assists.
90.
David Beckham was subbed off in the 89th minute for Marcelo Sarvas, and was given a standing ovation at their home venue.
91.
David Beckham had earlier announced that the 2012 MLS Cup Final would be his final game with the Galaxy, despite having another year remaining on his contract.
92.
On 31 January 2013, ahead of the transfer deadline it was announced that David Beckham would be undergoing a medical with Paris Saint-Germain, ahead of a potential move to the Ligue 1 side.
93.
David Beckham 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.
94.
On 16 May 2013, David Beckham announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of that year's French football season.
95.
On 18 May 2013, David Beckham was made captain in his final home game against Brest.
96.
David Beckham was subbed off after 80 minutes, receiving hugs from his fellow players and manager, as well as a standing ovation from fans.
97.
On 1 September 1996, David Beckham made his first appearance for England on 1 in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Moldova.
98.
David Beckham played in all of England's qualifying matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and was part of the 23-man squad for the finals in France, but the team's manager Glenn Hoddle publicly accused him of not concentrating on the tournament, and he did not start in either of England's first two games.
99.
David Beckham, after having been fouled by Diego Simeone, kicked Simeone while lying on the ground, striking him on the calf.
100.
Simeone later admitted to trying to get David Beckham sent off by over-reacting to the kick and then, along with other members of his team, urging the referee to send David Beckham off.
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David Beckham responded by raising his middle finger and, while the gesture attracted some criticism, many of the newspapers that had previously encouraged his vilification asked their readers to stop abusing him.
102.
On 15 November 2000, following Kevin Keegan's resignation as England manager in October, David Beckham was promoted to team captain by the caretaker manager Peter Taylor, and then kept the role under new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
103.
When Teddy Sheringham was fouled eight yards outside the Greek penalty area, England were awarded a free-kick and David Beckham ensured England's qualification with a curling strike of the kind that had become his trademark.
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David Beckham was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2001, and finished runner-up to Luis Figo of Portugal, for the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
105.
David Beckham was partially fit by the time of the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea, and played in the first match against Sweden.
106.
England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil after Ronaldinho scored the winner; following the match, David Beckham was criticised in the media for jumping over a tackle late in the first half, which led to Brazil's equaliser.
107.
David Beckham played in all of England's matches at Euro 2004.
108.
In October 2005, David Beckham's sending off against Austria made him the first England captain to be sent off and the first player to be sent off twice while playing for England.
109.
David Beckham captained England for the 50th time in a friendly international against Argentina the following month.
110.
David Beckham was named Man of the Match by tournament sponsor Budweiser.
111.
David Beckham was sick before the game and vomited several times as a result of dehydration and illness that he got after having scored the winning goal for England.
112.
McClaren said that he was "looking to go in a different direction" with the team, and that David Beckham "wasn't included within that".
113.
On 26 May 2007, McClaren announced that David Beckham would be recalled to the England squad for the first time since stepping down as their captain.
114.
David Beckham started against Brazil in England's first match at the new Wembley Stadium and put in a positive performance.
115.
David Beckham had assisted in three of England's four total goals in those two games, and he stated his desire to continue to play for England after his move to Major League Soccer.
116.
On 22 August 2007, David Beckham played in a friendly for England against Germany, becoming the first to play for England while with a non-European club team.
117.
On 20 March 2008, David Beckham was recalled to the England squad by Capello for the friendly against France in Paris on 26 March.
118.
David Beckham became only the fifth Englishman to win 100 caps.
119.
Capello had hinted on 25 March 2008 that David Beckham had a long-term future in his side, ahead of crucial qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.
120.
David Beckham played well and assisted John Terry on the match-winning goal.
121.
The match was the first time since the 2006 World Cup that David Beckham had skippered England and marked a dramatic turnaround for David Beckham.
122.
On 11 February 2009, David Beckham drew level with Bobby Moore's record of 108 caps for an English outfield player, coming on as a substitute for Stewart Downing in a friendly match against Spain.
123.
On 28 March 2009, David Beckham surpassed Moore to hold the record outright when he came on as a substitute in a friendly against Slovakia, providing the assist for a goal from Wayne Rooney in the process.
124.
David Beckham unveiled a new team at the next England match, a home friendly match against Hungary on 11 August 2010, with Beckham still unavailable for selection but aiming for a return to playing in MLS by the following month.
125.
David Beckham remained ten caps short of the record number of 125 caps by goalkeeper Peter Shilton, for a player of any position.
126.
David Beckham was named in the provisional squad to represent the Great Britain Olympic football team at the 2012 Olympics.
127.
David Beckham was not included in the final selection by manager Stuart Pearce, while Andy Hunt, the head the British Olympic Association, contacted Beckham's representatives for him to be related to Team GB more broadly.
128.
David Beckham has been rated by some pundits as one of the greatest wide midfielders of all time.
129.
Unlike his Manchester United teammate Ryan Giggs on the opposite wing, David Beckham preferred to beat players through his movement and passing, rather than going at opponents directly with the ball.
130.
David Beckham formed a strong partnership on the right side of the pitch with full-back Gary Neville during his time with the club, due to their understanding, as well as Neville's ability to get forward with his overlapping runs, get on the end of Beckham's passes, and deliver crosses into the box whenever the latter was heavily marked.
131.
David Beckham felt that his best role was on the right, although he personally preferred playing in the centre.
132.
David Beckham drew praise in the media for his ball control and ability to create space for himself on the pitch, as well as his anticipation, composure, determination, athleticism, dedication, and intelligence as a footballer.
133.
David Beckham was a product of Sir Alex Ferguson's hard-working approach at Manchester United.
134.
David Beckham maintained his training routine at Real Madrid and even when his relationship with management was strained in early 2007, Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon and manager Fabio Capello praised David Beckham for maintaining his professionalism and commitment to the club.
135.
I've been very fortunate to work with some great players and he [David Beckham] was one of them.
136.
David Beckham was a great player, he made the very most of his talents and that was through sheer hard work, professionalism, always doing extra on the training field.
137.
David Beckham inspired his team-mates through his performances, he was a winner.
138.
David Beckham was the first England player ever to collect two red cards, and the first England captain to be sent off.
139.
David Beckham received one red card while at Paris Saint-Germain, in a match against Evian on 28 April 2013.
140.
David Beckham is the greatest icon on the planet and the cause of such delirium in the media and on the streets, the greatest catwalk model there is.
141.
David Beckham was the most galactic of the galacticos off the pitch, but the greatest of earthlings when he walked on to the field.
142.
On 5 February 2014, MLS announced that David Beckham had exercised his option to buy a MLS expansion team for, which he had received as part of the contract he signed with the LA Galaxy in 2007.
143.
The ownership group, led by David Beckham, originally hoped the Miami-based team would begin play in 2016 or 2017.
144.
In 1997, David Beckham started dating Victoria Adams after she attended a Manchester United match.
145.
David Beckham was famously known as "Posh Spice" of the pop music group Spice Girls, one of Britain's top pop groups at the time, and his team was enjoying a great run of success.
146.
David Beckham proposed to her on 24 January 1998 in a restaurant in Cheshunt, England.
147.
Elton John and David Furnish are reportedly the godparents to Brooklyn and Romeo Beckham; their godmother is Elizabeth Hurley.
148.
David Beckham has been actively involved in beekeeping, animal husbandry and farming since 2020 in the barn they bought in the Cotswolds in 2016.
149.
On 9 May 2019, at Bromley Magistrates Court, David Beckham was banned from driving for six months.
150.
David Beckham previously pleaded guilty to using a mobile phone while driving on 21 November 2018.
151.
David Beckham received six points on his licence, to add to the six he already had for previous speeding matters.
152.
David Beckham has several tattoos that pay tribute to his daughter, Harper, as well as several with religious significance.
153.
In 2018, David Beckham added to his collection a tattoo of a solar system covering the left side of his scalp.
154.
Many of David Beckham's tattoos were completed by the Manchester-based tattoo artist Louis Molloy.
155.
In 2015, a Portuguese company associated with David Beckham's spokesman had their server hacked which contained personal emails from David Beckham.
156.
Germany's Der Spiegel and France's L'Equipe published details of the hack, reporting how David Beckham was angry at not being granted a knighthood in 2013, and that the Honours Committee was concerned about his tax affairs due to input from UK government department HMRC.
157.
David Beckham's team stated some of the published emails were doctored, but they confirmed others as genuine.
158.
David Beckham became known as a fashion icon, and together with Victoria, the couple became lucrative spokespeople sought after by clothing designers, health and fitness specialists, fashion magazines, and perfume and cosmetics manufacturers.
159.
US covers have included the men's magazine Details, and with Victoria for the August 2007 issue of W According to Google, "David Beckham" was searched for more than any other sports topic on their site in 2003 and 2004.
160.
David Beckham had a 10-year collaboration with PepsiCo that expired in 2009.
161.
David Beckham has promoted The Walt Disney Company theme parks.
162.
David Beckham featured in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he was on the cover for the UK edition of FIFA 98.
163.
David Beckham played a critical part in bringing the Olympics to London in 2012, travelling with the British delegation to Singapore in 2005 for the host city selection.
164.
David Beckham rode a London double-decker bus into the stadium and Page and Lewis performed "Whole Lotta Love".
165.
David Beckham featured at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, carrying the Olympic flame to the stadium by speedboat.
166.
David Beckham visited Afghanistan in May 2010 for a morale-boosting visit to British troops fighting the Taliban insurgency.
167.
From 14 July 2013, David Beckham appeared in adverts for BSkyB, advertising their Sky Sports coverage via the Sky Go app.
168.
In January 2014, David Beckham appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC in the US, and in March he made a guest appearance in the BBC's Sport Relief special of Only Fools and Horses.
169.
David Beckham was named one of GQs 50 best dressed British men in 2015.
170.
In March 2015, David Beckham had the third highest social media rank in the world among sportspeople, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, with over 52 million Facebook fans.
171.
In June 2020, David Beckham became a minority owner of the London-based esports organisation Guild Esports.
172.
David Beckham is a founding member of the Malaria No More UK Leadership Council and helped launch the charity in 2009 with Andy Murray at Wembley Stadium.
173.
In November 2014, David Beckham designed a Paddington Bear statue, one of fifty created by various celebrities which were located around London prior to the release of the film Paddington.
174.
David Beckham himself appears in the sequel, Goal II: Living the Dream, in a larger role, when the film's lead character gets transferred to Real Madrid.
175.
Artist Sam Taylor-Johnson recorded David Beckham sleeping in a hotel room in Madrid in January 2004 following a morning's training session with Real Madrid.