David Beckham

English former professional footballer, president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City F.C.

In 1999, Beckham placed second for the Ballon d'Or, and Pelé included him in the 2004 FIFA 100 list of the top living players globally.^[1]

Quick Facts

Birth name: David Robert Joseph Beckham
Born: 2 May 1975
Birthplace: Leytonstone, London, England
Position: Midfielder

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He signed as a trainee with Manchester United on 8 July 1991 and helped the club win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992.^[2] In the 1998–99 season, Beckham was part of the Manchester United team that won the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.^[3] He retired in May 2013 after a 21-year career, following a four-month stint at Paris Saint-Germain.^[4] Beckham came into the world on 2 May 1975 at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London; his mother Sandra Georgina worked as a hairdresser, and his father Ted Beckham was a kitchen fitter.^[5]

During the 1999 European Cup final, both goals resulted from corners Beckham delivered.^[6][7]

What the cited sources add

The same BBC article notes that Bayern Munich's disappointment was obvious as victory was snatched away from them.^[6] A Marca article from 2019 describes how Real Madrid's 2003 Asia tour generated "Beckham-mania" in China, with an Adidas spokesman stating that putting Beckham's name on any product meant Real Madrid "didn't stop selling"^[8] A BBC Sport report from 2004 explains that Beckham admitted intentionally fouling Ben Thatcher to get booked, knowing he would miss the next match due to injury.^[9] The same BBC article quotes Beckham saying, "On this occasion, I made a mistake".^[9]

References

Wikipedia, "David Beckham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Shakespeare 'a cultural icon' abroad", BBC News, 14 November 2016; Savell Reavis, "The Life and Career of David Beckham: Football Legend, Cultural Icon", Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, p. 158, 175; "The World's Best-Paid Soccer Players", Forbes, 17 April 2013; "David Beckham kids named most stylish celebrity children in the world – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk", The Belfast Telegraph, 9 April 2014; Daniel, "David Beckham exits as gracefully as one of his arcing crosses", The Guardian, 16 May 2013; "Pele's list of the greatest", BBC Sport, 4 March en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Beckham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "David Beckham – Rise of a Footballer", The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition, 19 August 2003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Beckham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Kings of Europe", BBC News; "Manchester United Legends: David Beckham" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Beckham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "David Beckham wears captain's armband, adds assist for PSG in likely career finale – Yahoo! Sports", Yahoo!, 18 May 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Beckham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004", Queen Anne Press, 2003, p. 42; Culpepper, "BECKHAM – Working-class boy to Man U", Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2007; Burchill, "On Beckham", Random House, 2012; Balfour, "All About David Beckham's Parents, Ted Beckham and Sandra West", 26 June 2024; "David Beckham's 29 Questions With Gary Neville | Overlap Xtra", 9 June 2022; "David Beckham Wishes Sister Lynne Happy Birthday with Sweet Throwbacks: 'We Love You'", People (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"The Kings of Europe", BBC News. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
Wikipedia, "David Beckham" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Kings of Europe", BBC News; "Rivaldo on top of the world", FIFA (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"Beckham-mania in China on Real Madrid's 2003 Asia tour", Marca. facts only, no text reused. marca.com
"FA wants explanation from Beckham", BBC Sport, 14 October 2004. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article David Beckham (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.