Former England captain David Beckham is to retire at the end of the season. The 38-year-old signed a five-month deal at Paris St-Germain in January and donated all of his salary to charity.
Beckham made 115 appearances for England and 394 for Manchester United, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League. Including PSG’s recent Ligue 1 title win, Beckham has won 19 trophies – 10 of them league titles – in a playing career spanning 20 years, and is the only English player to win championships in four countries.
Upon the announcement of his retirement, he said:
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.
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 100 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 realised those dreams.
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To this day, one of my proudest achievements is captaining my country. 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.
Nothing will ever completely replace playing the game I love. However, I feel like I’m starting a new adventure and I’m genuinely excited about what lies ahead. I’m fortunate to have been given many opportunities throughout my career and now I feel it’s my time to give back.
Beckham was the first English player to score at three consecutive World Cup finals and has the joint-second most goal assists in European Championship finals history. Beckham moved to Real Madrid in 2003, winning La Liga with them in 2007 before a switch to the United States with LA Galaxy.
His club football career is as follows:
- 1993-2003: Manchester United
- 1994-1995: Preston North End (loan)
- 2003-2007: Real Madrid
- 2007-2012: Los Angeles Galaxy
- 2009-2010: Loan spells at AC Milan
- 2013: Paris St-Germain
In March 2013, Beckham became the first sportsman from outside of China to be invited to become the ambassador for the sport in the country. He has two more games to go before the end of the season, concluding on 26th May at Lorient.
(Source)
