David Beckham, soccer player. Biography

David Beckham was born on May 2, 1975 in the Leytonstone district of East London. His father was engaged in the installation of kitchens, and in his spare time he coached the local football team, his mother worked as a hairdresser. The boy's parents were football fans and supported Manchester United. To attend the home matches of their favorite team, they regularly made 320-kilometer trips to Greater Manchester with their children. It was thanks to them that young David became interested in sports.

As a child, he attended Bobby Charlton Football School in Manchester and played for the Ridgeway Rovers team under the guidance of his father. At the age of 14, Beckham signed a school contract with Manchester United and joined the club's youth team. There he also met many future stars of the Red Devils: Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and others. In 1992, he and his teammates won the FA Youth Cup.

In September 1992, Beckham played for the first time in the main squad of Manchester United. In the match against Brighton, he took the field instead of Andrei Kanchelskis. In January 1993, the young football player fulfilled his childhood dream by signing a professional contract with the Red Devils.

In 1994, Beckham made his Champions League debut. He performed well in the first match, scoring a goal against Galatasaray, and Manchester United won with a crushing score of 4:0. In 1995, the athlete spent a month at the Preston club as a loaned player and during that time managed to score two goals in five matches.

After returning to the Red Devils, Beckham rejoined the main squad and continued to show good results. In the 1995/96 season, he played in 32 English Premier League (Premier League) matches, scoring seven goals. The following season, in the very first game against Wimbledon, the player managed to hit the opponent's goal from his half of the field, after which he joined the national team.

Nevertheless, the 1998 World Cup turned into a scandal for Beckham. The athlete successfully passed all the qualifying matches, but shortly before the start of the championship, the head coach of the English team, Glenn Hoddle, accused him of not being assembled and did not allow him to the first games. In the third match, Beckham proved himself by scoring a goal from the penalty spot.

However, in the 1/8 finals, the player received a red card for hitting the Argentine player Diego Simeone. As a result, the British national team lost one of the most important players and lost in a penalty shootout. After that, Beckham was heavily criticized by fans, who blamed him for the team's failure.

Despite the disastrous World Cup, Beckham did not leave Manchester United. Moreover, the 1998/99 season was the most successful of his career. During this time, he helped the team to complete the treble (golden hat-trick) — to win the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

In the 2000-01 season, Beckham also showed high performance, scoring 16 goals in all matches played. In the spring of 2003, he signed a new contract with Manchester United, but in July he left the team due to a conflict with coach Alex Ferguson, who did not like that the footballer, having married the lead singer of the Spice Girls pop group Victoria Adams, began to devote too much time to social life.

The tension between the coach and the player escalated into a scandal after Manchester United's defeat in the FA Cup. In the locker room, Ferguson threw a boot at Beckham, hitting him in the face. The athlete received a deep cut, and the wound had to be stitched up. After that, he left the Red Devils and signed a contract with Real Madrid.

Beckham spent four years at Real Madrid. In 2003, he won the Spanish Super Cup, and in the 2006/07 season he won the Spanish championship (La Liga). In total, he played 159 matches for the Spanish club, in which he scored 20 goals.

In 2007, Beckham joined the American Los Angeles Galaxy team, where he played for six seasons. During this time, he participated in 98 matches and scored 18 goals. In order to attract a star player, the United States Soccer League (MLS) had to make serious concessions, in particular, to raise the salary cap, which later went down in history as the "Beckham rule." However, it all paid off — with the arrival of Beckham, the Galaxy gained unprecedented fame, and the league was able to attract a huge number of new viewers.

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In 2009 and 2010, Beckham played in the Italian Milan on loan. The athlete hoped to apply to join the British national team, but was forced to miss the World Championships due to injury. In November 2012, he left the Galaxy and signed a contract with Paris Saint-Germain for one season. In PSG, the footballer played 14 matches and won the French championship. In May 2013, he announced his retirement.

After finishing his playing career, Beckham became involved in charity work. In 2015, he founded The David Beckham Unicef Fund, whose main goal was to help children from different countries. In 2018, the former athlete became the president of the American club Inter Miami, which started in the MSL in 2020.

Beckham also tried himself as a film actor. In 2014, a documentary about the life of a former football player after retirement, David Beckham: Journey into the Unknown, was released. The following year, he appeared as a cameo in Guy Ritchie's film Agents of A.N.K.L. And in 20178, the athlete played a cameo role in the film The Sword of King Arthur. In 2023, a documentary mini-series about the star player's life and his career at Manchester United was released on Netflix.

David Beckham turns 50 in May 2025. According to The Sun, the athlete plans to have a big dinner for family and friends, and then spend time with his wife.

David Beckham — personal life

Beckham first saw his future wife, Spice Girls soloist Victoria Adams, at the band's concert in Tbilisi. Even then, he was struck by the beauty and grace of the singer. Two years later, the footballer was able to meet her personally during a charity match at Manchester United's home stadium in Taffold. After the game, Adams went into the athletes' locker room and handed Beckham a ticket with her number on the back.

The romance between the football player and the singer developed rapidly, and in 1999 they got married. At the same time, Adams took her husband's last name. Even before the wedding, the couple had a son, Brooklyn Joseph, and in 2002 his brother, Romeo James, was born. In 2005, the Beckhams became parents for the third time — they had a son, Cruz David. In 2011, the family received a long—awaited daughter, Harper Seven.