David Beckham to retire at end of the season | Vital Football

David Beckham to retire at end of the season

DeanoVilla

One Bloody Number
After 20 years, 19 trophies, over 100 England Caps, and inspiring a whole generation of kids in the right way to behave as a footballer, the magnificent David Beckham is to hang up his boots.

Sad day. Great player. Great bloke. I'm sure he'll continue to do good things whatever he does next.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22558393

David Beckham to retire from football at end of season
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.

"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," he said.

“He's been a fantastic ambassador for football and sport. What he has achieved has been remarkable. Whatever he goes on to do I'm sure he will achieve a lot.


Lee Sharpe

Ex-Man Utd midfielder and former team-mate
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.

"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," he said.

"I'm fortunate to have realised those dreams."

Beckham moved to Real Madrid in 2003, winning La Liga with them in 2007 before a switch to the United States with LA Galaxy.

The midfielder made his England debut against Moldova in 1996 and captained the side from 2000 to 2006, making his 115th and final England appearance in a 3-0 win over Belarus in 2009.

He added: "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."

He has two more games to go before the end of the season, concluding on 26 May at Lorient.
 
Now he can concentrate on selling underpants,aftershave,sarongs and hair lacquer.

Well done Sir David Beckham.
Love him to bits.Always have .Always will.
The day the news of the world started that bullshit about him having an affair,with absolutely no evidence,was the day i stopped buying the rag.This bloke has been amazing for football,but certain parts of the media tried to do what they always have done... build `em up,then knock `em down.Well you never knocked him down you sad bastards.
 
Football is so short on really good role models we should treasure the ones we have.

Kids need more people like Becks to look up to and less people like Jordan and Peter Andre!

I don't get the criticism of Brand Beckham. So the guy has found several ways of enhancing his earnings potential based on his ability and good looks. Fair play to him.

He loves the game, he was always ultra proud to be stepping out for England, the game needs more David Beckhams thats for sure.

That free kick against Greece still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
 
I remember the first time he came to Villa Park with mufc after he`d been sent off in the world cup.The Holte End gave him an enormous amount of grief (as did every other club,not just Villa).I felt like standing up and applauding him.Anyone would think he`d done it deliberately to knock England out the cup.
I quite like his wife aswell :17:
 
I think the way he bounced back from that incident was the making of the man.

To have a whole nation literally hating you one minute to become the Nations darling the next shows tremenous character. He could have sunk without a trace after that.
 
And we don`t care that you don`t care.
This is the David Beckham appreciation society,so sod off Murph.
 
He pretty much retired when he went to the MLS.

For a guy who is as thick as shit, he's a fantastic professional, a real model for others to look up to.
 
What he did for the MLS was amazing really. You look now at the likes of Henry, Angel, Cahill, Keane all over there. David Beckham started that!

He didn't go there to retire. He went there to start something big and did a good job.

He proved he could still cut it at the top level when he went to Milan and is still doing so at PSG, where he has won another Champions medal.

 
Yes, he did amazingly well to turn opinion back in his favour after the Simeone incident.

At times, he was the only player that seemed to care as much as the fans, and for that, I'll always be in the Beckham appreciation society.

I still can't believe he was left out of the Olympic squad after all he'd done in the bid. He should have captained the side and we might have done better.
 
DeanoVilla - 17/5/2013 01:38

What he did for the MLS was amazing really. You look now at the likes of Henry, Angel, Cahill, Keane all over there. David Beckham started that!

He didn't go there to retire. He went there to start something big and did a good job.

He proved he could still cut it at the top level when he went to Milan and is still doing so at PSG, where he has won another Champions medal.

Come on, man. I know you like Beckham and I can certainly understand that but what did he do in the MLS? Paved the way for other over the hill players to pad their bank accounts?

What he did at PSG was to sit on the bench mostly and come on after 75 minutes. He only played 90 minutes once and made one assist in ten games. Did he even qualify for a league winner's medal? Isn't there a certain number of games you have to play for that?
 
Clubpaver - 16/5/2013 16:14

And we don`t care that you don`t care.
This is the David Beckham appreciation society,so sod off Murph.

I don't care that you don't care that I don't care.

He certainly did do a lot for the MLS - I kinda wondered if he was always going to return there. Perhaps he will take on the proposed 2nd New York Franchise (as it seems the Government aren't supporting a Florida franchise at the moment!)
 
People will remember him mainly for his set pieces, and of course that goal against Wimbledon, but the guy worked his arse off on the pitch and always gave his all for whichever club he was at. OK, so MLS wasn't the greatest standard, but he raised the profile over there surely, more than the previous attempt with Pele et al.
And PSG was always going to be a last hurrah and probably more about getting back to Europe with his family and not having to play in England.
Fair play to you Mr Beckham, enjoy your footballing retirement, I have no doubt you'll find plenty of other activities to keep you busy in the years to come.
 
Yeah i have to echo the sentiment regarding Beckham. Absolutely fantastic player and professional.

Can't believe that Ferguson, Scholes, Carragher, Beckham, Phil Neville and Owen are all retiring this year!! Definitely the end of the wonderful footballing era.
 
Becks was great, I will NEVER forget that game against Greece, Paul Scholes was crap that day, Beckham must have covered every blade of grass that day and we all know what happened next.

Has played at top clubs all over the world and is very much admired in Spain and Italy, no mean feat.

As for calling him thick as shit, well I don't know if he is or not but he's clearly a good guy. The work he does for charity (not to mention him giving his wage to a local charity in Paris) plus the hours and hours and hours he spends with academy set ups.

I have never got why people hate him so much, personally I think he is a credit to the game and our country.
 
thefacehead - 17/5/2013 02:21

Becks was great, I will NEVER forget that game against Greece, Paul Scholes was crap that day, Beckham must have covered every blade of grass that day and we all know what happened next.

Has played at top clubs all over the world and is very much admired in Spain and Italy, no mean feat.

As for calling him thick as shit, well I don't know if he is or not but he's clearly a good guy. The work he does for charity (not to mention him giving his wage to a local charity in Paris) plus the hours and hours and hours he spends with academy set ups.

I have never got why people hate him so much, personally I think he is a credit to the game and our country.

I don't think many people hate him. I think that Brand Beckham and the marketing hype which surrounded him made him seem like a better player than he was (he was never the best player in the world) and people pushed back against that.