Posted on 05/16/2013 9:44:00 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
LONDON (AP) — David Beckham is retiring from soccer, ending a career in which he became a global superstar who transcended the sport.
The 38-year-old Beckham, who recently won a league title in a fourth country with Paris Saint-Germain, said Thursday he will retire after the season.
‘‘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,’’ the former England captain said in a statement.
Beckham, whose forays into fashion and marriage to a pop-star wife have made him a riveting international celebrity, has two more matches left at PSG. He has been giving his salary to a children’s charity.
He started his career with Manchester United and also played for Real Madrid and the Los Angeles Galaxy, winning titles with all those clubs.
‘‘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. I'm fortunate to have realized those dreams,’’ Beckham said.
On the international stage, Beckham made 115 appearances for England’s national team — a record for a player other than a goalkeeper.
‘‘To this day, one of my proudest achievements is captaining my country,’’ Beckham said. ‘‘I knew every time I wore the Three Lions shirt, I was not only following in a long line of great players, I was also representing every fan that cared passionately about their country. I'm honored to represent England both on and off the pitch.’’
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Bummer. No pictures.
No more benders.
When he “played” for L.A. it was like he was retired already.
But I hear the weather’s nice! ;)
My favorite Beckham goal....talk about a “Wanna Get Away” moment for the goalie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhkIi0LCpw0
Sorry, but soccer is not my favorite sport, but I did play it in High School and college..
Kind of a Sean Bean smirk there, but his tattoos are disgusting. He and his wife are some of the most mis-labeled “beautiful people” imaginable.
Playing in France and forking over 3/4 of your paycheck to Monsieur Hollande is not exactly going out on top.
Still, congrats on a great career. You and Posh are certainly welcome here if the environuts in Britain continue to dump on you about having too many kids.
No argument, there. But he probably has more loose bills floating-around in a forgotten coat somewhere than I can earn in a month’s worth of 60-hour weeks.
Yes, great goal by Becks, but goalie error really contributed to that goal.
But Beckham has been a great player with a long career. Seems like a pretty nice guy too.
Awesome.
His later years weren’t that glorious, he should have stayed at United (and I say that through gritted teeth as I’m a Liverpool fan). I guess two egos as big as his and Fergie’s could co-exist at OT.
Beckham Sent Off — at a Youth Soccer Game
“And I was like, ‘Come on, he’s 7 years old, Referee, you can’t send him off.’ And he looked at me and was like, ‘Yes, I can.’ And I was like, ‘O.K., well, you can’t, he’s 7 years old.’ And he came over and gave me a red card. He told me to get out of the park. For real. The gate was only 20 yards away and I waited and went back in when my son’s game was on.”
Good story. That seems pretty representative of him. Kind of a down-to-earth guy and not full of himself.
Becks was one of those players who made everyone else around him better....just because he didn’t score a lot of goals in LA,didn’t mean he wasn’t a huge factor there.
He needs time away from soccer to get another tattoo.
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