David Beckham to Retire from Professional Soccer
By Josh Hill
David Beckham may very well be one of the most well known football players to have ever played the game, as even American’s starkly unfamiliar with the game know who the longtime Manchester United and global superstar is. If you haven’t seen him scoring goals in the English Premier League or the MLS, you’ve likely seen, heard or smelt him in some capacity as Beckham transcended stardom and became an entity and a product all of his own.
The product of David Beckham will forever exist, but the footballer in him is calling is a career after over two decades of dominance in his sport. Beckham announced on Thursday that the conclusion of the Paris-Saint Germaine season will also mark the conclusion of his career that started way back in 1993 with Manchester United.
“If you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over one hundred times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy,” Beckham said. “I’m fortunate to have realized those dreams.”
Beckham debuted with Man U back in 1993 at the age of 18 and has since become perhaps the most well known footballer to ever play the game. But he’s not just a pretty face, as Beckham was as devastatingly talented on the field as he was dashingly good-looking. That combination of sex and sports made Beckham a symbol around the world and helped launch him into pop culture.
That’s the magic of Beckham, as he’s known by everyone for different things. Ask anyone on the street who David Beckham is and they’ll either tell you he’s married to Posh Spice or that he’s a legendary footballer — but everyone knows who he is.
Beckham won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups and the Intercontinental Cup between starting his career in 1993 and 2o03 when he abruptly left Manchester United after an incident with the recently retired Sir Alex Ferguson. Beckham was struck in the eye with Ferguson’s boot, which prompted him to leave the club and joining another stellar club in Real Madrid.
He had already breached international stardom when he left the EPL to join the American’s football league, the MLS. Joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, Beckham helped bring the sport to a new audience and while it didn’t catch on the way some people would have liked it to, he still managed to win yet another championship in a different country and a different team.
His career was epic and with all he’s accomplished, his life isn’t even half over yet. Beckham is only 38-years old and while he’s far too shy and even keel to become a football analyst, Beckham will likely continue to be a symbol around the world as he’s always been. Fans will miss him though, even the ones who never actually sat and watched him as Beckham transcended what it meant to be a typical football star in England and instead launched himself into the nucleus of global pop culture — a place he’ll being staying for quite some time.