David Beckham retires

That was a response to sportsczy, not you.

Sorry, it was straight after my post so thought it was to me. removed

So you're saying that football should be a communist-like endeavor where players are indentured servants to a club... sorry, but the world has evolved out of that, not just football. Are you going to blame the fall of the USSR on Beckham too?

My god another legend retires. Football has collectively lost one of the great legends today. I loved Beckham. He was a very talented player.

sportsczy wrote:So you're saying that football should be a communist-like endeavor where players are indentured servants to a club... sorry, but the world has evolved out of that, not just football. Are you going to blame the fall of the USSR on Beckham too?

I'm saying his greed paved the way for the culture we have today whereby players are becoming more powerful than the club. Where their selfishness and desire to be famous comes at a detriment to the fans.

Beckham's polished speeches written by PR teams might convince people otherwise, but himself and his brand has always been his priority.

Ferguson acknowledged this and turfed him out.

Well done for retaining a certain level well into his thirties, but he hasn't been anything noteworthy for a good while. Still, a fascinating case of branding himself, up there with Michael Jordan in that category, and he can retire with pride.

I feel old

True legend. Football won't feel the same without him

Great guy and a great player in his prime. Take a bow Becks you've done good.

He retired in 2007 lol.

if he was ugly he wouldnt been that much of a name, but he really did the most out of what he had.

I still have that Beckham shirt from when i was a kid , one with the Sharp logo and some awful stripes in the arms . Used to be my idol back then , i would try to immitate his style on free kicks and break windows next corner behind me somehow

Anyhow , i am very pleased to have seen Beckham playing for Milan . His free kicks and style in general were world class . So many classic moments and games with him in. Amazing player , even as he got older he was a great pro.

I would like to see him become a coach one day, would be interesting . He's played football all over the world with many top clubs and also worked with many legends of the sport around him. I would like to see his work with a team someday.

One of my childhood favorites

Eivindo wrote:if he was ugly he wouldnt been that much of a name, but he really did the most out of what he had.

He gave United 4/5 World Class season.

There was a year in which he assisted 33 goals in the League alone or something insane like that.

Great workrate, best crosser, dead ball specialist and long passer in the World for years. Had a great strike on him as well and scored a lot of goals for a right sided midfielder.

My favourite football player since I was 8... For me, he is one the best RMs in the history of football.

Beckham is the reason why I watch football.

The_Badger wrote:
I'm saying his greed paved the way for the culture we have today whereby players are becoming more powerful than the club. Where their selfishness and desire to be famous comes at a detriment to the fans.

Beckham's polished speeches written by PR teams might convince people otherwise, but himself and his brand has always been his priority.

Ferguson acknowledged this and turfed him out.

What culture are you talking about? Where are players becoming more powerful than clubs?

And how does selfishness and desire to become famous come at the detriment of fans?

Beckham's brand might be the top priority for him, but to keep his brand he had to play well too. And i believe he has played well in all the clubs he went to. As fans, that is all we can ask for really.

Lex wrote:It's been long overdue if I'm to be honest

this ^

Legend!!!!! will miss him dearly


under his MLS contract he had to right to become an owner of an MLS club, he might be looking to buying one soon, i hope he invests into the new NYC club

One of my idols

Went out as a champion.

And yeah Beckham was actually really, really good. He came 2nd at world player of the year once, it was not just for his looks or Spice Girls ya know? He had many world class seasons at Man Utd and whatever club he played at at whatever age, he always gave his all. Man Utd, he was just tremendous. Won the treble, and a whole lot more there and was consistently their best player. His performance at Real Madrid was by no means bad, he was especially vital in the 2nd half of his last season when he won the league and played good in his time there. Even at LA Galaxy, Milan and PSG he held his own. Won two MLS Cups and Ligue 1 at the end, going out like a chap. Crossing, long balls, free kicks, one of the best the game has ever seen. At true legend and professional, country meant the most to him. Gave his all for England all the time. Take a bow Becks.

Thank you Becks, true legend in many aspects for the game.

Many people actually don't know that Beckham narrowly finished second to Rivaldo in the Ballon D'Oh in 1999, for his treble winning exploits.

When he came to Madrid, the Madridistas had this media created image of his of pretty boy, only capable of making Hollywood plays, but they were pleasantly surprised to see he had tremendous work rate, and was actually very hard working and self sacrificing, even spending spells in the centre of the pitch, to accomodate the other attacking talent at Real Madrid.

One of the best dead ball experts of ALL TIME easily, and i am yet to see a better crosser of the ball.

A man who can win over Fabio Capello with his sheer professionalism desrves to be respected. My only regret for David is he didnt get his swansong with Team GB at the Olympics (The one he campaigned tirelessly for).

Thanks for the memories Becks, Coz there ain't no one who can Bend It Like Beckham

Kamikaze692 wrote:Many people actually don't know that Beckham narrowly finished second to Rivaldo in the Ballon D'Oh in 1999, for his treble winning exploits

Rivaldo - 219 votes
Beckham - 154 votes
Shevchenko - 64 votes.

That in no way is a narrow margin.

Kamikaze692 wrote:Many people actually don't know that Beckham narrowly finished second to Rivaldo in the Ballon D'Oh in 1999, for his treble winning exploits.

With current voting method, Beckham actually would have won 2001 (Owen) Ballon d'Or, narrowly beating Figo.

Incredibly saddened by this. I genuinely feel Becks had one or even two more years in Paris as the touch of experience, class and ability he brought to PSG was quite admirable for someone of his age. His FKs, his long drive passes, his vision and his crossing to which I still haven't seen one better at it. How he evolved his game was a testament that you CAN play when you lose you legs.

A victim of over-exposure to which had people malign him for his looks, success, stature yet continued to ignore what a magnificent player he actually was. Highly respected and admired for his character and on-pitch exploits within each club he went. United & Real is obvious, then came him revolutionizing MLS, followed by Paris in the end of his career.

I, will always remember his excellent Milan tenures. His first loan tenure involved him scoring two excellent goals, one of them a free kick from the most acute angle. Aside from that, in both years he was an absolute masterclass in his passing, vision and needle-point crossing. His presence added a lot to our youth and Abate learned many things from him especially crossing. No coincidence when Becks left, Abate suddenly couldn't cross anymore. Learned Italian as quick as possible, honoured Milan and it pained all of us that Bruce Arenas of Galaxy wouldn't let him go despite him practically begging for the Milan stay.

A man of pure class and dignity. Another legend retires this week. I truly wish him well.

Legend. He has done so much for the sport and achieved a lot too. Going out on a high.

RED wrote:Legend. He has done so much for the sport and achieved a lot too. Going out on a high.

I remember when we were down 4-0 to you guys at Old Trafford. Leonardo decided to make a classy move to bring in Becks. David came in with a magnificent applause which even had Milan fans emotional. Chants were "One David Beckham...There's only one David Beckham"" etc... David being the professional man he is tried to get on with the game yet broke down in tears while trying to hide it due to Milan situation. It was one of the moments that defined football at its best.

United fans seemed to unanimously respect Milan's situations by encouraging and clapping for every chance Milan got in the most sincere way. It wasn't one that a club of Milan's stature would like, yet we were so humbled, any more humiliation would be dire. Then came one moment which is one of my favourite moments of Becks, the ball volleyed in and around the box until it went 20 feet into the air and when it came down, Becks launched a volley which hit it so sweetly that it lasered onto VDS and absolutely corralled the crossbar. It was the only moment that Milan could look fondly upon such a gruesome loss. Beckham's INSANE piece of technique lifted our heads high just for a few moments as such was the amazing display of technique there. United fans applauded that shot as if he was playing on their side. It was a beautiful moment and I thank Becks for that.

Match went on as United fans were class and decided to chant "Love United, Hate Glazer" throughout the rest instead of adding salt to our wounds. They chanted it constantly and as it grew louder, Milan away fans stood up applauded the cause as it was the greatest sight I'd seen in Old Trafford. The chant was 80+ people singing for one cause and oblivious to the match.

Hence why Becks picked up that Green and gold and wore it to support the cause. Leonardo and the squad supported that action as it was the most respectful 4-0 loss I've seen my team face. We had it coming