David Beckham: The ex-football star is 50 years old

Hardly any other former footballer is in the spotlight as David Beckham, who celebrates his 50th birthday on May 2. Today he is not only an ex-professional kicker, but also a model, designer, advertising star and, above all, a style icon.

David Beckham linked during his active career as a football professional, the sports with a glamor world- his life started anything but brilliant. Born on May 2, 1975, David Robert Joseph Beckham grew up in Leytonstone, a rather modest part of London. His parents, David Edward Alan Beckham (77) and Sandra Georgina West (76), were enthusiastic Manchester United fans. And with this club, the talented David also signed at the age of 16. In the club’s own boarding school, he was still at school before he started.

Beckham celebrated numerous successes with MAN United – including six championships. He played a total of over 260 games for the club and was part of the historical “Triple” win in 1998/99, in which Manchester United won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Shortly after the breakthrough at his club, Beckham also made his debut for the English national team: until his resignation in 2009, he played a total of 115 international matches. From 2000 to 2006 he led the team as captain. But not only on the field, the 50-year-old became a superstar: with his bleached hair, sparkling earplugs, the steadily growing tattoo collection and his stylish appearance, he shaped the image of the “metrosexual” man-one who pays particular attention to his appearance. In addition, his media -effective relationship with a Spice Girl …

With the beginning of his football career, Beckham’s love story also started: in 1997 he met his current wife Victoria Beckham (50), who was then famous as “Posh Spice” Victoria Adams – on the verge of a football game. Together with Spice Girls colleague Melanie C (51), the singer visited one of his games and was introduced to him. It sparked immediately. “I wanted to marry her, have children with her, be with her forever,” Beckham later recalled the beginning of her relationship in his Netflix documentary “Beckham”.

“Posh” and “Becks”, as the glamor dream couple were baptized by the media, made nails with their heads: two years after they got to know them they became parents – in March 1999 son Brooklyn (26) was born. Four months later, Victoria and David Beckham said yes at a castle in Ireland. The two proud parents of four children are now. After Brooklyn, his brothers Romeo (22) and Cruz (20) followed before daughter Harper (13) made family happiness as a nest crotch.

But the marriage of the Beckham was not spared negative headlines. After moving to Real Madrid in 2003, his then assistant Rebecca Loos (47) claimed to have had an affair with him – an assertion that Beckham vehemently denied. The rumors were difficult for his marriage. “To be honest, I don’t know how we survived,” the 50-year-old later confessed in his Netflix documentary.

David Beckham moved from Real Madrid to Los Angeles Galaxy four years later, from where he was borrowed twice to AC Milan. In 2012, Beckham finally announced his farewell to the club and the planned move with his family back to Great Britain. There he signed a contract with Paris St. Germain – in May 2013 he finally finished his professional career.

Beckham was awarded numerous honors for his impressive career: in 2003 Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) appointed the Officer of the Order of the British Empire. In 2010 he received the “BBC Sports Personality of the Year – Lifetime Achievement Award” for his services in football. Today he is considered one of the best known and best former football players and has already been one of the 100 most influential people in the world – even if football legend Diego Maradona (1960-2020) once blasphemed: “He is too good to walk across the field.”

The end of the career on the soccer field did not detract from his success. Since 2012 he has been modeling, among other things, for the Swedish label H&M or brought out his biography “My Life”. In 2023, the four-part Netflix documentary “Beckham”, which illuminates its ascent to Manchester United and his family life. Apart from his glamorous life, Beckham is committed to charitable purposes: in addition to his work for Unicef, he founded the “Charitible Trust” aid organization with his wife, which provides children with wheelchairs.

However, it is not without football: in 2018 David Beckham became part of an investor group that founded the MLS franchise Inter Miami. Today the British family lives in both Florida and Great Britain. In addition to a villa and a luxury apartment in sunny Miami, the Beckhams have a town house in London and a country seat in the Cotswolds, a picturesque region in southern England, which is also known as the “heart of England”.

The Beckhams also conquered the heart of the British royal family. Especially with the sons of King Charles III. (76), Prince William (42) and Prince Harry (40), David and Victoria Beckham maintain a friendly relationship: in 2011 they were guests at the wedding of William and Princess Kate (43) in Westminster Abbey. Seven years later, they were also among the guests at Harry’s wedding with Duchess Meghan (43) in the St. George’s chapel in Windsor.

Appearance to royal state bankets is also no rarity for the Beckhams. In May last year, the monarch also appointed the former football star as ambassador for his Royal Foundation, the King’s Foundation.