Brentford’s signing of Romeo Beckham made a headline or three this week but thankfully nobody got carried away and suggested the 20-year-old might now emulate his father’s successes.
Across two decades, David Beckham redefined the role of a right midfielder and by establishing himself as a superstar during Manchester United’s unprecedented era of dominance, redefined the level of attention bestowed onto a footballer.
By the time he hung up his boots in 2013, arguably the second most famous Brit to the Queen had won ten league titles in four different countries, twice finishing runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards, and captaining England on numerous occasions.
They were, and are, a cavernous pair of boots to fill.
Furthermore, when detailing his career what comes to the fore is the undeniable calibre of every club he played for.
This applies even to Preston North End, the club where he made his first professional outing in the mid-Nineties, on loan from United.
The Lilywhites may have been languishing in the bottom division when a fresh-faced Beckham made his bow, but there are few grander institutions in English football. A founder member of the league, Preston, back in the day, were the first side to navigate an entire season unbeaten.
After impressing at Deepdale, the talented teenager was soon-after given an opportunity to shine for the Red Devils and it didn’t take him long to claim the right-sided berth as his own, scoring from inside his own area against Wimbledon on the opening day of the 1996/97 campaign.
It was an audacious feat that astounded even the great Eric Cantona watching on and from that afternoon forward few were betting against the young prodigy becoming a pivotal figure in Sir Alex Ferguson’s latest all-conquering creation.
Indeed, as one quarter of an iconic midfield, that also featured Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs, Beckham helped United reach new heights, winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and then in 1999 achieving a quite remarkable pinnacle.
With mere minutes remaining and a goal down to Bayern Munich in a Champions League final, United memorably came back to win. Both strikes came courtesy of Beckham corners.
By now of course he was a household name, married to a Spice Girl, and for what it’s worth, also exceedingly wealthy, so any potential move away from Old Trafford was always going to make waves, and was always going to be to a global giant.
David Beckham shocked the world when he left Real Madrid in 2007 to sign with the LA Galaxy of MLS.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 4, 2023
He was just 31 years old and accepted a 70% pay cut.
But his contract included two unique clauses that eventually helped him earn more than $500 million.
Here's the story 👇 pic.twitter.com/4iXmaWXjLs
Subsequently, in 2003 he became a ‘galactico’, joining Real Madrid for a hefty sum of €37m.
In four seasons in Spain, Beckham won silverware and relished the challenge of usurping Barcelona as Los Blancos continued their eternal duopoly with their Catalan rivals.
It is a feud that presently sees both clubs neck-and-neck in the La Liga betting odds. So it ever was.
A surprise move came next, with Beckham crossing the Atlantic to sign for La Galaxy, his superstar status a good fit for a MLS in need of such lustre, and the difference in seasonal schedules meant he could top up his fitness with two loan spells at Italian behemoths AC Milan.
Finally, in 2013, to wind down his illustrious career, Beckham joined PSG for a matter of months. Again he was a sprinkling of stardust. Again it was to elite fare.
Over 523 games, David Robert Joseph Beckham played for six clubs, who between them have won their respective league on 91 occasions. Romeo could never.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 9th January 2023
