Beckham calls time on career

David Beckham has announced he will retire from football at the end of the season.



The former England captain, who turned 38 earlier this month, will quit at the top days after helping Paris St Germain to their first French championship in 19 years.

That made him the first Englishman to win titles in four different countries, and PSG were keen to hold on to the midfielder beyond the end of his short-term contract.

But Beckham has instead opted to follow his old mentor Sir Alex Ferguson into retirement, calling a halt to a senior career which began with a Manchester United debut in a League Cup tie at Brighton on September 23 1992.

His final appearance is likely to come for PSG away at Lorient on May 26.

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 one hundred 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."

Beckham won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League with United, where he was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1997.

Glenn Hoddle gave him an England debut in September 1996, and he survived the fall-out from an infamous red card at the 1998 World Cup to become his country's most-capped outfield player, 59 of 115 appearances coming as skipper.

Beckham left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in the summer of 2003 and won the Liga title in the last of his four seasons in Spain before signing for LA Galaxy, where he was twice an MLS Cup winner.

He spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan and made a final move to Paris in January this year.

Beckham joined Sky as an ambassador for sport earlier this year and has also spent time promoting football in China.

He said: "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'S CAREER BY NUMBERS

Manchester United - 394 games, 85 goals

Preston North End (loan) - 5 games 2 goals

Real Madrid - 115 games 20 goals

LA Galaxy - 118 games 20 goals

AC Milan - 33 games 2 goals

PSG - 11 games 0 goals



DAVID BECKHAM FACTFILE

• 1975: Born Leytonstone, May 2.


• 1991: Joins Manchester United as trainee.


• 1992: Makes debut against Brighton in the League Cup on September 23. Wins FA Youth Cup.


• 1993: Signs professional contract at Old Trafford.


• 1995: Joins Preston on loan in February and scores two goals in five games.


• 1996: Helps United to Premier League and FA Cup double.


• Scores goal of the season on opening day at Wimbledon, lobbing Neil Sullivan from the halfway line. Makes his England debut in the 3-0 win in Moldova.


• 1997: Collects another championship winners' medal, voted PFA Young Player of the Year.


• 1998: Scores first England goal, a free-kick against Colombia in Lens on June 26. Sent off in second-round penalty shoot-out defeat against Argentina.


• 1999: Helps United win the Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup after coming from behind to beat Bayern Munich with two late goals.


• Runner-up in World Player of the Year awards, behind Rivaldo.


• 2000: May - Collects fourth championship winner's medal as United win title by a record 18 points.


• November - Named England captain for the November friendly with Italy in Turin by stand-in boss Peter Taylor.


• 2001: May - Collects another Premier League title with United.


• October - Curls in a 25-yard last-minute free-kick against Greece at Old Trafford to earn England a 2-2 draw and send them into World Cup finals.


• 2002: May 11 - Signs new three-year contract reported to be worth between £90,000 and £100,000 a week.


• June 7 - Scores from the penalty spot in the World Cup group stage match against Argentina to seal a 1-0 win.


• England bow out in the quarter-finals at the hands of eventual winners Brazil.


• 2003: February - Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson accidentally kicks a boot into Beckham's face in frustration at United's FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.


• June 14 - Awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to football.


• June 17 - United announce they have accepted a £25million bid from Real Madrid for Beckham, who agrees personal terms.


• 2004: June 24 - Misses a penalty as England lose to Portugal in a shoot-out in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals in Lisbon.


• 2005: November: Captains England for 50th time in friendly against Argentina in Geneva.


• July 2 - Stands down as England captain.


• August 11 - Dropped from squad for friendly against Greece, Steve McClaren's first match as manager.


• 2007: January 11 - Beckham announces he will leave Real Madrid and join Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy on a five-year contract in August.


• January 13 - Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello says Beckham will never play for the club again.


• May 26 - McClaren hands Beckham a shock England recall for matches against Brazil and Estonia.


• June - Wins the La Liga title with Madrid, having won back his place in the team.


• August 16 - Beckham scores his first goal for Galaxy on his full debut in the SuperLiga semi-final meeting with DC United with a trademark free-kick.


• 2008: March 26 - Wins 100th cap in the friendly against France.


• October 30 - Milan announce Beckham will join them on loan on January 7, 2009.


• 2009: January 11 - Makes shock first start for Milan in 2-2 Serie A draw at Roma.


• March 9 - AC Milan announce that under a unique 'timeshare' agreement, Beckham will stay with them in Italy until the end of the season, return to the Galaxy from July to October and then rejoin the Serie A club for the rest of the 2009-10 campaign.


• March 28 - Comes on as a half-time substitute against Slovakia at Wembley to win his 109th cap and break Bobby Moore's record for an outfield player.


• July 20, 27 - Twice confronts fans who gave him a hostile reception in his first home games after returning to the Galaxy.


• 2010: March 14 - Tears his Achilles tendon in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo - an injury that rules him out of the World Cup.


• June - Part of England's backroom staff for World Cup campaign which ends in second-round defeat to Germany.


• August 11 - England career appears to be at an end when Capello tells ITV: 'Probably he is a little bit old.'


• 2011: November 20 - Wins the MLS Cup as the Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo 1-0 in the final.


• December 31 - Five-year deal at the Galaxy expires.


• 2012: January 19 - Re-signs with the Galaxy.


• June 28 - Announces he has not been included in Team GB's squad for the Olympic Games.


• November 16 - Football Federation Australia claim a representative of Beckham approaches them with a view to the midfielder making a short-term move to the A-League in the MLS off-season. A Beckham spokesman says his client has 'absolutely no plans to play in Australia'.


• November 20 - Confirms he is to leave the Galaxy after MLS Cup on December 1.


• December 1 - Ends his time in MLS in style by winning a second MLS Cup with a 3-1 win over Houston Dynamo.


• 2013: January 31 - Signs a five-month contract with Paris St Germain, revealing at a press conference he will play without a salary, donating what he would have earned to a children's charity in the French capital.


• February 24 - Makes his PSG debut as a substitute against rivals Marseille.


• April 2 - Starts Champions League quarter-final first leg against Barcelona. A brief substitute appearance in the following week's second leg was his final European game.


• May 12 - PSG clinch the Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 win over Lyon. Beckham becomes the first Englishman to win league titles in four different countries.


• May 16 - Announces his retirement from football.

Beckham Carrer in Pictures:

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