David Beckham

Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham (born 2 May 1975) is a former English association football player and businessman. He is now the majority owner of MLS team Inter Miami CF and the minority owner of EFL League Two club Salford City F.C..

In June 2003, Queen Elizabeth II gave David Beckham an OBE. In January 2005, David Beckham became a UNICEF ambassador. In June 2025, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor by King Charles III.

When he initially transferred from Manchester United F.C. to Real Madrid in 2003, he became the highest paid footballer in the world, although this has long since been surpassed.

 Early Life 
David Robert Joseph Beckham was born at Whipps Cross University Hospital in London, England on 2 May 1975. He is the son of Ted and Sandra Georgina West."David Beckham." (2009). Notable Sports Figures. Detroit: Gale Publishing. p. 113. He grew up in the Manchester football youth system along with Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, and Paul Scholes who all turned out to be famous footballers. Beckham’s maternal grandfather was Jewish, and he describes himself as "half-Jewish", and wrote in his autobiography "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion".

 Career 
 Manchester United  
From 1992 through 2003, he played for Manchester United in the Premier League.

 Real Madrid 
After leaving Manchester United, he signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid which ended in June 2007.

 LA Galaxy 
From 2007 to 2012, he played for LA Galaxy in the United States. He was loaned out to AC Milan of Italy for the 2008 - 2009 and the 2009 - 2010 seasons before joining the Galaxy again.

 PSG 
He played for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 until the end of the 2012/13 season. After the season ended, he retired.

 England 
He played for England for 13 years, from 1996 until 2009. He was dropped from the England team after giving up his England captaincy but regained his place in the England squad when Fabio Capello became the England manager in 2008.

 Personal life  
David Beckham's wife is singer Victoria Beckham. Some people call her Posh Spice because she was a member of the Spice Girls. The couple have three sons: Brooklyn Joseph Beckham (born 4 March 1999 in London), Romeo Beckham (born 1 September 2002 in London), and Cruz David Beckham (born 20 February 2005 in Madrid, Spain), and a daughter Harper Beckham (born 2 July 2011). She is also the youngest member of the Beckham family.

Beckham gained the nickname "Golden Balls" from Victoria, who revealed it on national television in 2008, while praising him for improving his reputation with England fans after the 1998 FIFA World Cup. When being knighted by King Charles III in November 2025, a string quartet played the song "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters, as a reference to this nickname.

Career statistics

Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsManchester United1992–93Premier League00001000–101993–94Premier League0000000000001994–95Premier League40203011001011995–96Premier League337312020–4081996–97Premier League36821001021149121997–98Premier League3794200801050111998–99Premier League3467110122105591999–2000Premier League316–00122504882000–01Premier League3192000120104692001–02Premier League281110001351043162002–03Premier League3163151133–5211Total26562246121831510139485Preston North End (loan)1994–95Third Division520000–0052Real Madrid2003–04La Liga32342–71214572004–05La Liga30400–80–3842005–06La Liga31331–71–4152006–07La Liga23321–60–314Total1161394–2822115520LA Galaxy2007Major League Soccer5000––21712008Major League Soccer25500––002552009Major League Soccer11200––401522010Major League Soccer7200––301022011Major League Soccer26200––403022012Major League Soccer24700–1160318Total981800–1119111820AC Milan (loan)2008–09Serie A18200–20–2022009–10Serie A11000–20–130Total29200–40–332Paris Saint-Germain2012–13Ligue 110020–20–140Career total52397351012111818313719129

International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsEngland199630199790199881199970200010020011052002932003942004122200591200681200750200880200980Total11517

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Beckham goal.

+ List of international goals scored by David BeckhamNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1 26 June 1998  Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France  17    2–0  2–0  1998 FIFA World Cup 2 24 March 2001  Anfield, Liverpool, England  39    2–1  2–1  2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 3 25 May 2001  Pride Park, Derby England  41    3–0  4–0  Friendly 4 6 June 2001  Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece  42    2–0  2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 5 6 October 2001  Old Trafford, Manchester, England  46    2–2  2–2  2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 6 10 November 2001  Old Trafford, Manchester, England  47    1–0  1–1  Friendly 7 7 June 2002  Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan  51    1–0  1–0  2002 FIFA World Cup 8 12 October 2002  Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia  55    1–1  2–1  UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 9 16 October 2002  St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England  56    1–1  2–2  UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 10 29 March 2003  Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein  58    2–0  2–0  UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 11 2 April 2003  Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England  59    2–0  2–0  UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 12 20 August 2003  Portman Road, Ipswich, England  61    1–0  3–1  Friendly 13 6 September 2003  Skopje City Stadium, Skopje, Macedonia  62    2–1  2–1  UEFA Euro 2004 qualification 14 18 August 2004  St James' Park, Newcastle, England  73    1–0  3–0  Friendly 15 9 October 2004  Old Trafford, Manchester, England  76    2–0  2–0  2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 16 30 March 2005  St James' Park, Newcastle, England  80    2–0  2–0  2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 17 25 June 2006  Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany  93    1–0  1–0  2006 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Manchester United
Premier League: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03
FA Cup: 1995–96, 1998–99
FA Charity Shield: 1996, 1997
UEFA Champions League: 1998–99
Intercontinental Cup: 1999

Real Madrid
La Liga: 2006–07
Supercopa de España: 2003

LA Galaxy
MLS Cup: 2011, 2012
Western Conference (regular season): 2009, 2010, 2011
Western Conference (playoffs): 2009, 2011, 2012
Supporters' Shield: 2010, 2011

Paris Saint-Germain
Ligue 1: 2012–13

England
Tournoi de France: 1997

Individual

FIFA World Player of the Year – Silver Award: 1999, 2001
Most assists in the Premier League: 1997–98, 1999–2000 (shared), 2000–01
Premier League Player of the Month: August 1996
PFA Young Player of the Year: 1996–97
FWA Tribute Award: 2008
Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1996–97
England Player of the Year: 2003
ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1998–99
UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: 1998–99
UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2003
Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02):
Domestic & Overall Team of the Decade
Goal of the Decade (vs. Wimbledon, 17 August 1996)
BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 2001
BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2010
Real Madrid Player of the Year: 2005–06
PFA Team of the Year: 1996–97 Premier League, 1997–98 Premier League, 1998–99 Premier League, 1999–2000 Premier League
FIFA 100
ESPY Awards:
Best Male Soccer Player: 2004
Best MLS Player: 2008, 2012
English Football Hall of Fame: 2008
Premier League Hall of Fame: 2021
MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award: 2011
PFA Team of the Century (1997–2007): 2007
International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) Legends
UEFA President's Award: 2018

Orders and special awards
Knight Bachelor by King Charles III, 2025
Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II: 2003
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador (2005–present)
"Britain's Greatest Ambassador" – 100 Greatest Britons awards
The Celebrity 100, number 15 – Forbes, 2007
Number 1 on the list of the 40 most influential men under the age of 40 in the UK – Arena, 2007
Time 100: 2008
Gold Blue Peter Badge winner, 2001
Do Something Athlete Award, 2011
AC Milan Hall of Fame

Records
First Englishman to win league titles in four countries (England, Spain, United States, France).
First England player to score at three FIFA World Cups.
First British footballer to play 100 UEFA Champions League games.
Most free-kicks scored in the Premier League: 18.
Most free-kicks scored in a Premier League season: 5 in 2000-01

 References 

Category:1975 births
Category:Living people
Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players
Category:Footballers from London
Category:Manchester United F.C. players
Category:Preston North End F.C. players
Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Category:People from Leytonstone
Category:UEFA Euro 2000 players
Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players
Category:Premier League players
Category:European Jews
Category:England at the 1998 FIFA World Cup
Category:England at UEFA Euro 2000
Category:England at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
Category:England at UEFA Euro 2004
Category:England at the 2006 FIFA World Cup