50 interesting facts about David Beckham: is OCD, one of the wealthiest soccer players in the world

David Beckham is one of the most popular soccer players around the world. He has played for teams such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, and LA Galaxy. Here are 50 interesting facts about this talented soccer player.

1. His full name is David Robert Joseph Beckham.

2. Beckham was born on May 2, 1975 in London, England.

3. David Beckham's favorite class in elementary school was art.

4. When he was 11, he won the coveted Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools National Skills competition. The win earned Beckham a trip to Barcelona, where he drew the attention of a Manchester United soccer talent scout.

5. At the age of only 16, he dropped out of school and began playing for Manchester United's junior team. He played his first pro game for Manchester two years later when he was only 18 years old. He was slowly growing a reputation for his ability to execute free kicks and score goals, often times in sensational fashion or at critical moments of the game.

6. Manchester United won the Premier League championship both in 1996 and 1997. In 1997 Beckham was voted the Young Player of the Year and finished second in voting for the overall Player of the Year award.

7. Despite failing to retain the Premier League title in 1998, Beckham was named to England's World Cup squad, and he signed a five-year, $12.5 million contract with Manchester United.

8. Beckham's 1998 World Cup experience became a turning point in his career during a match against Argentina. He was given a red card (which means expulsion from the game) for kicking Argentina's Diego Simeone just minutes into the second half with the score tied 2-2. Argentina went on to win on penalty kicks, eliminating England in the second round.He was met with criticism from the media and the public upon returning home. Beckham was not immune to the constant criticism, and publicly apologized, saying, according to Sports Illustrated, "I will always regret my actions. I want every fan to know how deeply sorry I am."

9. Beckham's life on and off the field have inspired so much curiosity in England that Staffordshire University began offering a twelve-week course on Beckham and the sociological implication of his career. The course is founded on the presupposition that Beckham's 1998 World Cup mishap defined an era in England similar to the way the assassination of John F. Kennedy did in the United States.

10. Beckham reached super fame when he began dating Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams in 1997. The couple became tabloid royalty and were often seen out wearing matching designer outfits.

11. The wedding of "Posh and Becks" two years later garnered breathless international coverage. The daylong gala reportedly cost $800,000. Adams wore a diamond-encrusted crown, and Beckham wore an ivory suit. Beckham and Adams appeared at the end of the affair in matching purple outfits.

12. The couple sold the pictures of their wedding to OK! magazine for $2.2 million.

13. In 1999, David and Victoria Beckham purchased their most famous home in Hertfordshire, unofficially dubbed Beckingham Palace, estimated to be worth £7.5 million.

14. In 2002, David helped England advance to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Unfortunately, David and his team lost to Brazil that year.

15. He has a movie named after him. In 2002, a film based on Beckham's world-renowned football skills, 'Bend it like Beckham' was released. Beckham and his wife had wanted to make cameo appearances in the film, but due to scheduling conflicts, they were unable to. Beckham says that he was not planning to join the acting scene because he believes himself to be "too stiff".

16. In 2003, David was transferred to Real Madrid in Spain for a mind-boggling $40 million. However, while there, he suffered several sports-related injuries which made it very hard for him to play at his top level.

17. When he went to play for Real Madrid, David had to choose a new jersey number. His old number, #7, was already taken. He chose #23 because it was Michael Jordan's number.

18. David Beckham was searched for more than any other sports topic on Google in 2003 and 2004.

19. In 2003 he signed a $160 million lifetime contract with Adidas, earning nearly half the money upfront and will continue to earn percentages of profits on all of his branded Adidas products. He had a 10 year collaboration with Pepsi Co. that expired in 2009.

20. In April 2004, the British tabloid News of the World carried claims by Beckham's former personal assistant Rebecca Loos that he and Loos had an extramarital affair. A week later, the Malaysian-born Australian model Sarah Marbeck claimed that she had slept with Beckham on two occasions. Beckham dismissed both accusations as "ludicrous".

21. Four years later, David Beckham and his family moved to Los Angeles after he signed an enormous five year $250 million contract to play for the LA Galaxy of the MLS. But his injuries subsisted and he missed quite a few games with the Galaxy at the start of his contract.

22. David and Victoria purchased a home in Beverly Hills for $22 million. Their neighbors include Jay Leno and Tom Cruise.

23. Within 48 hours of David Beckham signing with the team, the Galaxy sold more than 5,000 season tickets.

24. Tom Cruise hosted a "Welcome to L.A." party for the couple after Beckham joined the Galaxy in 2007.

25. By the time he was healed and ready to play, it seemed like it was already too late. Despite scoring a goal and assisting his American teammate Landon Donovan, the Galaxy failed to qualify for the end of season playoffs.

26. David Beckham surprised his wife Victoria with an outrageous gift, her own winery in Napa. Both the lovebirds have a passion for wine and Beckham was more than happy to pay a significant amount for the gift. The winery is only open to close friends and family.

27. The couple have four children: sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, and daughter Harper.

28. Elton John is godfather to Brooklyn and Romeo Beckham; their godmother is Elizabeth Hurley

29. Beckham's time at Manchester United ended in a horrible way when he was hit in the head with a shoe that manager Alex Ferguson had kicked in anger. Beckham left Old Trafford shortly after.

30. He suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Everything has to be strictly organized and, if possible, in pairs.

31. Beckham makes a cameo appearance with Zinedine Zidane and Raúl, in the 2005 film Goal!: The Dream Begins.

32. Beckham himself appears in the sequel Goal! 2: Living the Dream...

33. David Beckham is six-feet tall and weighs 163 lbs.

34. Beckham has supported UNICEF since his days at Manchester United and in January 2005, the English national team captain became a Goodwill Ambassador with a special focus on UNICEF's Sports for Development program.

35. On 17 January 2007, Rebecca Johnstone, a 19-year-old cancer patient from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, received a surprise phone call from Beckham. After the conversation, he sent her a Real Madrid jersey with his signature on it. Rebecca died on 29 January 2007

36. Beckham, like many celebrities nowadays, is a tattoo fanatic. He has at least 20 tattoos in various places on his body. These include his wife, Victoria's name, written in Hindi, his son's names, Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James and Cruz David, and his daughter Harper Seven's name, which is tattooed on his neck. Another tattoo is a Bible verse written in Hebrew. "Most of my tattoos are memories and things that mean things to me", he says.

37. Beckham's 115 appearances for England are the most for a player other a goalkeeper, and he was captain of the Three Lions from 2001-06.

38. Beckham is consistently ranked among the sport's highest earners, in 2013 he was listed as the best paid player in the world, earning over $50 million in the previous 12 months.

39. Beckham captained England 59 times,the fourth highest after Bobby Moore (90), Billy Wright (90) and Bryan Robson (65).

40. Beckham's many H&M underwear ads have proven to be hit wonders, with some hitting millions of views in just one week. One the ads is directed by Guy Ritchie, and shows Beckham running around Beverly Hills clad only in underwear. Due to some scheduling conflicts, Beckham was not able to shoot all the scenes and a body double was used. Beckham enjoyed working on this ad, stating, "We wanted to make something different from the usual body wear commercial and have a bit of fun with it."

41. As part of Beckham's marketing campaign with H&M, six 10-foot statues of the soccer star in his underwear were installed in New York City; others were installed in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

42. He has his own fragrance called Homme by David Beckham.

43. Chinese authorities appointed Beckham as global ambassador for Chinese football in March 2013. After numerous officials had been banned for match-fixing, and the Chinese Super League had failed to retain the services of well-known international names, Beckham's role was to help improve the image of the game and raise its profile both in China and abroad.

44. No matter what Beckham is doing, the press is sure to follow. On his first day of training with the Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, approximately 150 reporters were there to watch his important, albeit boring, training session. In the 50-minute session, Beckham entertained them with some jogging and stretching.

45. After moving to Paris to train with his new team Paris St-Germain, Beckham began to freshen up his French skills with weekly lessons. Learning the language, Beckham says, will help make his stay in Paris a more enjoyable one.

46. In May 2013, he announced plans to retire."I wouldn't have achieved what I have done today without my family. I'm grateful for my parents' sacrifice, which made me realize my dreams," Beckham said in a statement. "I owe everything to Victoria and the kids, who have given me the inspiration and support to play at the highest level for such a long period ...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. I'm fortunate to have realized those dreams."

47. By 2013, Beckham had become credited as England's wealthiest sportsman, reportedly earning more than $46 million annually.

48. In February 2014, MLS announced Beckham and a group of investors would own an expansion team in Miami, which would begin play in 2016 or 2017.

49. Some other endorsements include Armani, Diet Coke, Burger King and Samsung, which in 2012 earned him $27.7 million.

50. David Beckham's net worth is $350 million.

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