David Beckham
- Profession: Footballer
- Place/Date of Birth: 02 May 2020
- Assiociated with: Victoria Beckham
It’s thought 31-year-old David might have been seen as less of a commodity after the World Cup. "The contract was due to end on September 15. But in the months running up to that, there were issues over the World Cup and the resulting fall-out for David," a source at Police said. "The decision to go for a more worldwide-appeal personality came in the light of that."
It was also thought Antonio, who is 14 years older than David, would appeal more to American fans. "Antonio was seen as more of an alpha male. The brand was also keen to have a personality which meant more to US audiences," said the source.
Sources close to David have insisted he decided not to renew the contract. His spokesman said both parties "wanted to move in different directions".
Becks hits out at Lily - Sept 18, 2020
David Beckham today refused a single by new pop star Lily Allen - because she had been "horrible to Victoria". He was offered the track by Chris Moyles on Radio 1 but said: "She was horrible to Victoria, I won’t have that then."
Loud-mouth Lily was quoted as saying Victoria Beckham was a bad role model for young girls because she was so thin. She apparently said: "I don’t care how much she says that’s her natural weight, it’s bull. She gets photographed every day and doesn’t eat a thing."
And the Real Madrid star also said Victoria "looks great in my kit".
The DJ had suggested: "If she turns up for breakfast in bed wearing one of your shirts it must drive you potty!" Becks agreed: "It doesn’t get better than that."
The footballer, who stood down as England captain after the country’s exit from the World Cup in the summer, told how he was "gutted" to be left out of the first squad selected by new head coach Steve McClaren.
"It surprised me, I must admit and I am gutted cos playing for England was everything to me," he said. "I still hope that I’m going to play for England again. I don’t want to retire from international football."
David says Posh is his ’rock’ - Sept 18, 2020
David Beckham has told how he hates reading negative stories about wife Victoria - who he calls his "rock". The football star says his super-slim wife doesn’t deserve any stick from the media.
"What is difficult is when people criticise her," he is quoted in the Daily Mirror as saying. "She’s a devoted wife and mother and she deserves every success she gets." But the footy hero admits he loves seeing snaps of his "beautiful" spouse in the papers.
"It’s not difficult to see pictures of Victoria in the newspapers every day," he confessed. "She’s there because people like taking pictures of her because they think she’s beautiful. And I think she’s beautiful, of course. "It’s flattering that people want to know what she’s doing next, what her hairstyle is, what sunglasses she’s going to be wearing, what her jeans are like."
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Victoria Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham was born on 2nd May 1975 and despite being a renowned national and international footballer, is probably more famous for his marriage to ‘Posh’, aka Victoria Beckham, their bizarrely named children and continued coverage in the gossip press.
Beckham’s football career began its steady climb when he first signed a trainee’s contract with Man U in 1991, making his league debut in 1995.
His contribution at Man U saw the team climb the ladder that is the English Premiere League and by 1998 he had also established himself on the international scene.
In 1998 Beckham was part of the England squad at the World Cup, but received a red card in the quarter final, for kicking out in anger at Argentian player Diego Simeone. England lost the game on penalties and David’s on-pitch behaviour became the object of much criticism on his return to England.
Despite his instrumental part in Man U claiming the Treble, Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, in the 98/99 season, Beckham’s real rise to fame didn’t start until 2000 when he was promoted to captain the England team.
In 2001 his performance in a qualifying match against Greece saved the day for the England team and shortly afterwards he was voted Sports Personality of the Year. In 2002 his leadership saw an unprecedented 5-1 defeat of Germany in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. The team went on to knock Argentina out of the cup on penalties, before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual winners Brazil.
Relations at home with Man U were strained during this time. A number of injuries left their star player incapacitated, whilst his growing celebrity status appeared to cause friction with teammates and manager alike.
In 2003 we all heard about the infamous ‘boot’ incident, when apparently, following a defeat against Arsenal, manager Alex Ferguson kicked a football boot at Beckham, it struck his eye causing a gash that required stitches.
In the summer of 2003 Beckham surprised fans by announcing a move to Spanish dream team Real Madrid, with whom he signed a four-year contract. During his time in Spain he split his time between the Spanish capital and his family who had remained at their home in England.
Despite winning over the fans in Spain and scoring well in the first season, the team itself didn’t perform well and were knocked out of both the Spanish and Champions League. It wasn’t until his fourth season in 2006/7 that the team won the Spanish Le Liga title, Beckham’s first since his arrival at the club.
During his time in Spain Beckham spent as much time in the papers as he did on the pitch, when accusations of an affair with personal assistant Rebecca Loos were printed in the tabloid press. His wife’s refusal to move to Spain fuelled yet further accusations that the marriage was on the rocks.
His career as England captain also seemed to be strained at this time, when during the 2006 World Cup he was substituted, a move that saw him weeping on the sideline. Shortly after this incident Beckham took the bold step of standing down from his position as captain and was subsequently dropped from the squad all together.
At the beginning of 2007 Beckham announced his swift departure from Real Madrid, in order to cross the Atlantic and join Los Angeles Galaxy.
2007 has seen the whole family move Stateside, with the Beckham’s continuing their domination of the world media in an attempt to ‘conquer’ the USA.
David and Victoria married on July 4th 1999 and have three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz
Updated July 2007
October 2007