David Beckham's Stunning Transformation
David Beckham's name has become practically synonymous with soccer, or football, as it's known pretty much everywhere in the world outside of North America. Yet Beckham has also come to transcend his status as a superstar athlete, becoming an international celebrity and pop-culture phenomenon whose visage is instantly recognizable throughout the planet.
As Beckham told GQ, that wasn't his original goal; In fact, his No. 1 priority had always been his career as a footballer. But if other opportunities presented themselves that would expand his personal brand without getting in the way of his athletic ambitions, who was he to turn them down? "Obviously, I always did things outside of the game and outside of my footballing career that were slightly different at the time," he explained. "I think it's more acceptable now to do some of the things that I did, some of the [magazine] covers, some of the photo shoots, some of the sponsorships, but I think my focus back then was to just win trophies, be successful with Manchester United and never leave United. Anything outside of the game was just a bonus."
Beckham blazed his own trail, and his journey from a London suburb to the world's biggest soccer stadiums and front pages of fashion magazines has been a long and fascinating one.
David Beckham only dreamed of playing soccer as a child
Growing up in London's Leytonstone district, David Beckham was immersed in playing soccer. That's not surprising when considering that his parents — appliance repairman Ted Beckham and nursing home hair stylist Sandra West — were huge fans of the Manchester United soccer club. On the pitch, the youngster proved to be a natural. He was just 11 years old when he was deemed best in his age group nationwide at the Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools skills competition. "I never really did well at school, because all I ever wanted to do was play football," Beckham recalled in his 2023 Netflix docuseries, "Beckham."
By 14, Beckham was invited to play for the youth team of the Brimsdown Rovers. While his skills were undeniable, there were concerns about his size. "At that age, David was one of the smaller kids in the team," former Rovers chairman Graham Dodd told TheFA.com. "David had lots of talent but we wondered whether he was ever going to be big enough or strong enough."
That trepidation soon evaporated. Attending Charlton's soccer school as a teenager was a seminal experience for Beckham. Not only did the training continue to hone his innate abilities, but he also impressed the school's founder, legendary Manchester United star Sir Bobby Charlton, who became an early supporter. "After being at his soccer school, [Charlton] passed the word on to [Manchester United] that maybe you should look out for me," Beckham explained in an interview with the BBC (via the Manchester Evening News).
Playing with Manchester United fulfilled a childhood dream
After playing with Manchester United's youth training division at age 16, two years later David Beckham was recruited for the team. Joining Manchester United in 1992 was the achievement of his childhood dream, and it didn't take long for Beckham to make his mark. During his second official season, Beckham scored eight goals, with the team winning both the Premier League championship and the FA Cup.
It was during the 1998 to 1999 season that Beckham truly distinguished himself as a star player, with Manchester United becoming the first British soccer club to win the Treble, which was earning the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup trophies in the same season. "That season was the most incredible season any of us, maybe any footballer playing in England, will ever experience," Beckham said in his autobiography, as excerpted by the Bleacher Report.
During his 11-season stint with Manchester United, Beckham played 394 games, scoring 85 goals. He led the team to six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and the aforementioned Champions League. However, Beckham has never been one to rest on his laurels, instead looking toward the next challenge in front of him. "I'm not a person that sits and reflects on past achievements and things like that," Beckham told the Associated Press. "But then the next day you're on to the next season and you're on to something else."
He became an advertising force
While establishing himself as a soccer superstar with Manchester United, David Beckham's celebrity grew to epic proportions. That did not go unnoticed by the advertising industry, leading Beckham to be tapped to associate himself with all sorts of products. In 1997, he was paid a reported $5 million to shill Brylcreem. Then in 1998, Beckham entered a deal with Pepsi, reportedly raking in nearly $3 million per year, with the partnership continuing until 2008.
As his career expanded and his celebrity grew, so too did the deals. That was typified by a lifetime contract he signed with Adidas in 2003, worth a reported $160 million, followed by a $10 million deal with Gillette in 2004. He partnered with British supermarket chain Sainsbury's in 2011 to become the face of the brand, with that deal estimated at over $6 million, and the following year received $25 million to become the global ambassador of the Armani fashion house. In 2014, he received an ownership in Haig Club whiskey to promote the booze brand, reportedly worth $50 million. Then, in 2017 he became a brand ambassador for Swiss watchmaker Tudor, earning a whopping $300,000 for each single social media post promoting the watches.
Beckham became the global ambassador of luxury car manufacturer Maserati in 2021 — even designing his own car for the company — which followed his earlier deal with Jaguar as its brand ambassador to China. Add it all up, and that's a lot of money in endorsement deals.
He became a public villain at the 1998 World Cup
In the world of soccer, the pinnacle is the World Cup, which takes place every four years with the men's teams within the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) competing for the coveted title. Interestingly, David Beckham has never won a World Cup, but has competed in three of them and holds the record as the only English player in history to have scored goals in all three.
England's match against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup remains a notorious moment for Beckham; when he received a red card for kicking the back of Argentine rival Diego Simeone's leg. When England ultimately lost the match, Beckham found himself vilified. That was particularly true when he returned to the U.K., and the fallout impacted him well beyond playing soccer. "It wasn't just stepping onto a football pitch, it was every time that I went out in my car and people stopped me and spat at my window and you know, all of those things, and then walking into a restaurant knowing that everybody in there hates you," Beckham told the Associated Press.
More than two decades later, that unnecessary kick remained a big regret for Beckham. "Now, at 48 years old, I beat myself up about it," he said in Netflix's "Beckham" (via the Mirror). "I made a stupid mistake," he lamented. "It changed my life."
He married Posh Spice
Victoria Adams was best known as the Spice Girls' Posh Spice when she first encountered her future husband in 1997 while attending a Manchester United match. They didn't speak at the time, but she returned to watch him play the following week, and the two wound up connecting. "We talked for about an hour in the players' lounge and then she actually got the train up that day, so she wrote her number down on her train ticket, which I still have," Beckham recalled during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."
As their romance blossomed, they tried to keep things secret to avoid a media frenzy. "My manager kept saying, 'Try and keep it under wraps," the Spice Girls star said in the Netflix docuseries "Beckham." "So we would meet in car parks, and that's not as seedy as it sounds."
They soon took the relationship public and got married in 1999. David and Victoria Beckham, as she came to be known after the wedding, went on to welcome four children: Brooklyn Beckham, born in 1999; Romeo, who arrived in 2002; Cruz, born in 2005; and Harper, the couple's only daughter, whom they welcomed in 2011. As of 2024, the Beckhams remain happily married. "You work together," Beckham told The Telegraph of the secret behind their long-lasting union. "It's a bit of give and take, always. And marriage is hard work."
A new chapter with Real Madrid
In 2003, Manchester United announced that it had sold David Beckham to Spanish soccer club Real Madrid, for the sum of £24.5 million (approximately $31 million). The addition of Beckham not only reversed Real Madrid's fortunes on the soccer pitch, but also generated more global interest for the team. The Brit also made a lot of money for the club, not just in ticket sales but also in merchandise; 8,000 Real Madrid Beckham shirts were sold within 24 hours of his signing with the team, and less than a year later, more than a million had been sold, reportedly earning back all the millions that the team had paid to Manchester United.
Beckham's four seasons with Real Madrid ended triumphantly in 2007; In his final game with the team, Real Madrid won the Spanish league championship — the first time the team had won that title during Beckham's tenure. "I couldn't have dreamt it any better," Beckham said afterward, as reported by CBC Sports. "It's been about winning the title for the last six months and we've deserved it tonight."
Reflecting on his years with the club during a 2020 conference call with Real Madrid Graduate School students, Beckham recalled the experience as being overwhelmingly positive. "The four years I spent at Real Madrid were among the most beautiful and important spells of my career," he reminisced (via Managing Madrid). "I have very fond memories of that time."
He revealed his struggles with OCD
Toward the end of his tenure with Real Madrid, David Beckham opened up about his mental health. During a television interview with British broadcaster, ITV, Beckham revealed his struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), detailing his need to rearrange his hotel rooms, relentless housecleaning, and other behavior.
"I've got this obsessive-compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line or everything has to be in pairs. I'll put my Pepsi cans in the fridge and if there's one too many then I'll put it in another cupboard somewhere," Beckham said in 2006 (via The Independent). According to Beckham, he was powerless to control it. "I would like to," he said when asked if he wanted to stop his OCD-fueled behavior. "I've tried and can't stop."
Years later, in the 2023 Netflix documentary, "Beckham," he was seen meticulously organizing all the clothing he would be wearing for the week to come and divulged that he still hadn't completely conquered his OCD. "The fact that when everyone's in bed I then go around, clean the candles, turn the lights on to the right setting, make sure everywhere is tidy," he said (via The Guardian). "I clip the candle wax, I clean the glass ... I know, it's weird."
Joining the LA Galaxy in a multimillion-dollar deal
After his four-year contract with Real Madrid ended in 2007, David Beckham made a lateral move that drew controversy while also making him even wealthier than he already was. While the Spanish club was desperate to hang onto its star player, Beckham instead signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy, part of America's Major League Soccer.
According to Beckham, his goal was to make soccer as popular in America as it was throughout the rest of the world. "There are so many kids that play baseball, American football, basketball. But soccer is huge all around the world apart from America, so that's where I want to make a difference with the kids," Beckham told Sports Illustrated at the time. Of course, there was another, less altruistic reason behind Beckham coming to Los Angeles; His five-year deal was rumored to be in the neighborhood of $250 million, which translated to about $1 million per week.
In 2008, Beckham became caught up in controversy when he was loaned to European team AC Milan. When he returned to play for the Galaxy, he was met with boos, not cheers, during his first game back. Sadly, Beckham's goal of competing in a fourth World Cup was squashed when he tore an Achilles tendon while playing with AC Milan in 2010.
He retired from soccer in 2013
In 2012, David Beckham left the LA Galaxy following the Major League Soccer final. "I've had an incredibly special time playing for the LA Galaxy, however, I wanted to experience one last challenge before the end of my playing career," Beckham said in a statement. That final challenge came into focus when Beckham subsequently revealed that he would be joining Paris Saint-Germain. His contract with the club was for just five months, with his salary being donated to charity. His tenure with the team was ultimately triumphant, with Beckham proving instrumental in winning the French league title.
While rumors swirled that he was mulling over returning for one more season, Beckham instead announced that he was retiring from soccer entirely. "I'm thankful to PSG for giving me the opportunity to continue but I feel now is the right time to finish my career, playing at the highest level," he said in 2013, as reported by The Guardian.
According to Beckham, he knew instinctively that it was time to bring his two-decade soccer career to an end. Interviewed by Gary Neville, his former teammate at Manchester United, Beckham was focused on his legacy. "Obviously it's a difficult decision because I still feel I can play at the top level — and still have done for the last six months," he explained, as reported by Yahoo! Sports. "But I always secretly said to myself that I want to go out at the top."
He bought an expansion team in Miami
David Beckham may have retired from playing soccer, but by no means was he done with the game. He made that abundantly clear in 2014 when he purchased Inter Miami CF, the Florida-based Major League Soccer expansion team. As it turns out, when he signed with the LA Galaxy in 2007, his deal stipulated that he could purchase an MLS expansion team with $25 million. "This is an exciting time for myself, my family, my friends and partners, and it is something we are really looking forward to bringing to Miami," Beckham said at a news conference announcing the deal, reported by The Guardian.
One big obstacle remained: where would the team be playing? MLS commissioner Don Garber would not officially grant ownership to Beckham until the team could secure a stadium. That process took four years, and in 2018, Beckham announced that his ownership was official, with plans for the team to play at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. The team finally took to the field in 2020 for its first game.
In 2023, Beckham pulled off a coup when Inter Miami signed soccer phenom Lionel Messi, in a deal reported to be worth $60 million. "I never thought I would have the same feeling as an owner as I had when I was a player," Beckham told The Athletic of signing soccer's biggest star since ... well, himself.
He was 2015's sexiest man alive
David Beckham may have left his soccer career behind, but by no means did that mean he had exited the spotlight. The clearest indication of that came in 2015 when he was crowned the year's sexiest man alive by People magazine, following in the footsteps of such previous sexiest men alive as Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Ryan Reynolds and many others. "It's a huge honor," Beckham told People when he received the title. "And I'm very pleased to accept."
Beckham was characteristically humble when he addressed the accolade in a social media post. "I thought I was past my sell by date," Beckham wrote on Instagram. "I always feel a little shy when receiving these Awards, though it will make my Mum happy."
Beckham sang a slightly different tune when he was confronted with his sexy status while appearing on "The Graham Norton Show." According to Beckham, the process involved receiving a phone call from someone at People asking if he was up for being that year's sexiest man alive. "I was obviously very surprised and slightly embarrassed, especially when my son just turned around to me and was like, 'Really?'" Beckham said. "So yeah, it was slightly embarrassing, but obviously I'm very proud of it as well."
David and Victoria celebrated 20 years as fashion legends
In 2019, when David Beckham and wife Victoria Beckham celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary, they weren't just spouses but were also, as Vogue declared, the first couple of fashion. As the magazine recalled, the media has long lavished attention on the Beckhams' stylish outfits and ever-changing hairstyles.
The couple's status as husband-and-wife fashion icons didn't just happen overnight but evolved over the course their two decades together. A big part of that, of course, came from Victoria's progression from pop star to fashion designer, taking her innate passion for fashion and turning it into a whole other career with her Victoria Beckham ready-to-wear clothing line. Meanwhile, her husband proved to be no slouch in the fashion department either; in 2012, he teamed up with H&M to launch his own line, David Beckham Bodywear.
As Beckham told GQ, it was his role as arm candy while accompanying his wife on red carpets that forced him to up his own style game, ultimately transforming him into the fashion icon he became. "When I was out with Victoria, I probably wore different clothes than I would have worn if I wasn't with her at the time," he conceded. GQ.co.uk fashion editor Nick Carvell explained to CNN of Beckham's fashion journey, "Being a footballer who was clearly motivated by fashion trends and absolutely loved clothes, he turned the idea of what it meant to be a stylish sportsman at the time on its head."
The Beckhams signed a $20-million deal with Netflix
Various power couples have signed big-bucks deals with Netflix, ranging from Barack and Michelle Obama to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. David and Victoria Beckham joined that exclusive club in 2020 when they signed on with the streamer, with the deal reportedly earning them $20 million to produce a documentary.
That project arrived in October 2023. Titled simply "Beckham," the four-part docuseries chronicled the soccer legend's life from his childhood to the present, and featured exclusive, never-before-seen footage that the couple — who have come to be known in the press as "Posh and Becks" — had filmed throughout the course of their relationship.
The timing of the docuseries held special significance for Beckham. "This is the 10-year anniversary of when I retired," Beckham told Netflix's Tudum of the series. "It's not just about my football career, but it's about my family, it's about being married to a Spice Girl, and my journey, really. It's been a roller coaster of emotions, but it's been special making it."
His 'gay icon' status was affected by his controversial role
Throughout his career, David Beckham has been a visible ally of the LGBTQ+ community, which is evident from when he appeared on the cover of the gay magazine, Attitude, back in 2002, the first time a heterosexual soccer player had done so. "Beckham said to the world: 'I'm straight, I'm the England captain and I think it's cool people are gay,'" journalist Chas Newkey-Burden analyzed to CNN.
However, Beckham's stature within that community was tarnished when he became an ambassador for Qatar when the nation hosted the 2022 World Cup. Given that homosexuality is criminalized in Qatar, Beckham was hit by a tsunami of backlash. That was particularly true of British comedian Joe Lycett, who shared a video on Instagram taking Beckham to task by pointing out that homosexuality in Qatar can result in prison — or worse. Beckham's rep responded via a statement, insisting that the footballer's stance had not changed, but that he saw the situation as a way to introduce both soccer and more progressive attitudes to the region. "We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy towards all people and that progress will be achieved," Beckham's spokesperson told CNN.
The following year, Beckham defended his role with Qatar. "I had a lot of conversations with the LGBTQ community when I was there," he told Sky News in 2023. "They said they had enjoyed the games and they felt it was the safest World Cup they'd had for a long time."