David Beckham

Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham (born 2 May 1975)^[5] 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..

Sir David Beckham OBE
Beckham at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships
Born	David Robert Joseph Beckham (1975-05-02) 2 May 1975 (age 50) London, England
Occupations	Footballer Businessman
Organisation(s)	UNICEF, Malaria No More[1]
Agent	Simon Fuller (XIX Entertainment)
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2][3][4]
Spouse	Victoria Adams ​ (m. 1999)​
Children	4, including Brooklyn and Romeo
Relatives	Nicola Peltz (daughter-in-law)
Association football career Position(s) Midfielder Youth career Ridgeway Rovers 1987–1991 Tottenham Hotspur 1989–1991 → Brimsdown Rovers (loan) 1991–1994 Manchester United Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1992–2003 Manchester United 265 (62) 1995 → Preston North End (loan) 5 (2) 2003–2007 Real Madrid 116 (13) 2007–2012 LA Galaxy 98 (18) 2009 → AC Milan (loan) 18 (2) 2010 → AC Milan (loan) 11 (0) 2013 Paris Saint-Germain 10 (0) Total 523 (97) International career 1992–1993 England U18 3 (0) 1994–1996 England U21 9 (0) 1996–2009 England 115 (17) *Club domestic league appearances and goals
Website	davidbeckham.com

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.^[6]

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.^[7] He is the son of Ted and Sandra Georgina West.^[8] 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,^[9] and he describes himself as "half-Jewish",^[10] and wrote in his autobiography "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion".^[11]

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"^[12][13] 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.^[13][14] 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.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United[16]	1992–93	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
	1993–94	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1994–95	Premier League	4	0	2	0	3	0	1[c]	1	0	0	10	1
	1995–96	Premier League	33	7	3	1	2	0	2[d]	0	–		40	8
	1996–97	Premier League	36	8	2	1	0	0	10[c]	2	1[e]	1	49	12
	1997–98	Premier League	37	9	4	2	0	0	8[c]	0	1[e]	0	50	11
	1998–99	Premier League	34	6	7	1	1	0	12[c]	2	1[e]	0	55	9
	1999–2000	Premier League	31	6	–		0	0	12[c]	2	5[f]	0	48	8
	2000–01	Premier League	31	9	2	0	0	0	12[c]	0	1[e]	0	46	9
	2001–02	Premier League	28	11	1	0	0	0	13[c]	5	1[e]	0	43	16
	2002–03	Premier League	31	6	3	1	5	1	13[c]	3	–		52	11
	Total		265	62	24	6	12	1	83	15	10	1	394	85
Preston North End (loan)	1994–95	Third Division	5	2	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	5	2
Real Madrid	2003–04	La Liga	32	3	4	2	–		7[c]	1	2[g]	1	45	7
	2004–05	La Liga	30	4	0	0	–		8[c]	0	–		38	4
	2005–06	La Liga	31	3	3	1	–		7[c]	1	–		41	5
	2006–07	La Liga	23	3	2	1	–		6[c]	0	–		31	4
	Total		116	13	9	4	–		28	2	2	1	155	20
LA Galaxy[17]	2007	Major League Soccer	5	0	0	0	–		–		2[h]	1	7	1
	2008	Major League Soccer	25	5	0	0	–		–		0	0	25	5
	2009	Major League Soccer	11	2	0	0	–		–		4[i]	0	15	2
	2010	Major League Soccer	7	2	0	0	–		–		3[i]	0	10	2
	2011	Major League Soccer	26	2	0	0	–		–		4[i]	0	30	2
	2012	Major League Soccer	24	7	0	0	–		1[j]	1	6[i]	0	31	8
	Total		98	18	0	0	–		1	1	19	1	118	20
AC Milan (loan)	2008–09	Serie A	18	2	0	0	–		2[d]	0	–		20	2
	2009–10	Serie A	11	0	0	0	–		2[c]	0	–		13	0
	Total		29	2	0	0	–		4	0	–		33	2
Paris Saint-Germain	2012–13	Ligue 1	10	0	2	0	–		2[c]	0	–		14	0
Career total			523	97	35	10	12	1	118	18	31	3	719	129

1. Includes FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France
2. Includes Football League Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearances in UEFA Cup
5. Appearance in FA Charity Shield
6. One appearance in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in Intercontinental Cup, three appearances in FIFA Club World Championship
7. Appearances in Supercopa de España
8. Appearances in North American SuperLiga
9. Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs
10. Appearance in CONCACAF Champions League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[18][19][20]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
England	1996	3	0
	1997	9	0
	1998	8	1
	1999	7	0
	2000	10	0
	2001	10	5
	2002	9	3
	2003	9	4
	2004	12	2
	2005	9	1
	2006	8	1
	2007	5	0
	2008	8	0
	2009	8	0
Total		115	17

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Beckham goal.^[21]

List of international goals scored by David Beckham

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 June 1998	Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France	17	Colombia	2–0	2–0	1998 FIFA World Cup
2	24 March 2001	Anfield, Liverpool, England	39	Finland	2–1	2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	25 May 2001	Pride Park, Derby England	41	Mexico	3–0	4–0	Friendly
4	6 June 2001	Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece	42	Greece	2–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	6 October 2001	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	46	Greece	2–2	2–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	10 November 2001	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	47	Sweden	1–0	1–1	Friendly
7	7 June 2002	Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan	51	Argentina	1–0	1–0	2002 FIFA World Cup
8	12 October 2002	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	55	Slovakia	1–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
9	16 October 2002	St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England	56	Macedonia	1–1	2–2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
10	29 March 2003	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	58	Liechtenstein	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
11	2 April 2003	Stadium of Light, Sunderland, England	59	Turkey	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
12	20 August 2003	Portman Road, Ipswich, England	61	Croatia	1–0	3–1	Friendly
13	6 September 2003	Skopje City Stadium, Skopje, Macedonia	62	Macedonia	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
14	18 August 2004	St James' Park, Newcastle, England	73	Ukraine	1–0	3–0	Friendly
15	9 October 2004	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	76	Wales	2–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
16	30 March 2005	St James' Park, Newcastle, England	80	Azerbaijan	2–0	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
17	25 June 2006	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	93	Ecuador	1–0	1–0	2006 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Manchester United^[22]

• Premier League: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03^[23]
• FA Cup: 1995–96, 1998–99
• FA Charity Shield: 1996, 1997
• UEFA Champions League: 1998–99
• Intercontinental Cup: 1999

Real Madrid^[22]

• La Liga: 2006–07
• Supercopa de España: 2003

LA Galaxy^[22]

• MLS Cup: 2011, 2012
  • Western Conference (regular season): 2009, 2010, 2011
  • Western Conference (playoffs): 2009, 2011, 2012^[24]
• Supporters' Shield: 2010, 2011

Paris Saint-Germain^[22]

• Ligue 1: 2012–13

England^[25]

• Tournoi de France: 1997

Individual

Beckham's 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year runner-up trophy

• FIFA World Player of the Year – Silver Award: 1999, 2001^[26]
• Most assists in the Premier League: 1997–98, 1999–2000 (shared), 2000–01^[27]
• Premier League Player of the Month: August 1996^[23]
• PFA Young Player of the Year: 1996–97^[28]
• FWA Tribute Award: 2008^[29]
• Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1996–97^[30]
• England Player of the Year: 2003^[31]
• ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1998–99^[32]
• UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: 1998–99^[32]
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2003^[32]
• Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02):
  • Domestic & Overall Team of the Decade^[33]
  • Goal of the Decade (vs. Wimbledon, 17 August 1996)^[33]
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 2001^[34]
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award: 2010^[34]
• Real Madrid Player of the Year: 2005–06
• PFA Team of the Year: 1996–97 Premier League,^[35] 1997–98 Premier League,^[36] 1998–99 Premier League,^[37] 1999–2000 Premier League^[38]
• FIFA 100^[39]
• ESPY Awards:
  • Best Male Soccer Player: 2004^[40]
  • Best MLS Player: 2008, 2012^[41]
• English Football Hall of Fame: 2008^[42]
• Premier League Hall of Fame: 2021^[43]
• MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award: 2011^[44]
• PFA Team of the Century (1997–2007): 2007^[45]
• International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) Legends^[46]
• UEFA President's Award: 2018^[47]

Orders and special awards

• Knight Bachelor by King Charles III, 2025^[48]
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II: 2003^[22]
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador (2005–present)
• "Britain's Greatest Ambassador" – 100 Greatest Britons awards^[49]
• The Celebrity 100, number 15 – Forbes, 2007^[50]
• Number 1 on the list of the 40 most influential men under the age of 40 in the UK^[51] – Arena, 2007
• Time 100: 2008^[52]
• Gold Blue Peter Badge winner, 2001
• Do Something Athlete Award, 2011^[53]
• AC Milan Hall of Fame^[54]

Records

• First Englishman to win league titles in four countries (England, Spain, United States, France).^[22]
• First England player to score at three FIFA World Cups.^[22]
• First British footballer to play 100 UEFA Champions League games.^[22]
• Most free-kicks scored in the Premier League: 18.^[55]
• Most free-kicks scored in a Premier League season: 5 in 2000-01^[56]