David Beckham’s full name is David Robert Joseph Beckham. He was born on May 2, 1975 in Leytonstone, East London, England. His father, Ted Beckham, was a kitchen fitter and his mother, Sandra West, a hairdresser. He has 2 sisters. His maternal grandfather was Jewish and David has been influenced by Judaism. He has a Hebrew tattoo of the Hebrew Bible; he wears long sleeves and does not show his tattoos in public.
Soccer has been in his blood since his childhood. He used to play regularly with his father. His parents were big fans of Manchester United, a quality he inherited. He did not do well in school. He attended a training session at FC Barcelona as part of the talent competition. The first club he played for was “Tottenham Hotspur’s” and finally in 1991 he signed a youth training contract.
He started out playing for Manchester United in the youth team. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson had great faith in his youth team. Beckham did not disappoint and quickly established himself as United’s right-back midfielder. He played very consistently and regularly for Manchester United but couldn’t find a place in the England team before ’96. He scored some spectacular goals and soon became a household name. His performance in the 1998-99 seasons earned him “second place” behind Rivaldo in the 1999 European Footballer of the Year awards. He was the highest paid footballer in the world. During this time, United won the Premier League; six times, the FA cup twice and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.
His relationship with his manager Ferguson turned very sour from 2000 and deteriorated in 2003. In 2003 he signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid.
He stayed at Madrid for four seasons and won the La Liga championship.
In 2007 he signed a five-year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy worth $32.5 million and that too on his own terms. While playing for the Galaxy, he also had two loan spells with Milan in Italy in 2009 and 2010.
On the international front, David Beckham made his England debut in 1996 when he was 21 years old. He was named Captain in November 2000 until the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
He was the highest paid footballer in the world.
He is married to former Spice girl Victoria Beckham. The couple has three children and currently resides in Beverly Hills, California.
