Whether David Beckham was a good or a great footballer has been debated on Radio 5 this morning, but he was certainly the greatest footballing celebrity of his generation. Having played at two of the greatest clubs in the world, Manchester United and Real Madrid, he then went to the ultimate celebrity destination, Los Angeles, and topped it off with a stay in the home of cosmopolitan chic, Paris.
Whether David Beckham was a good or a great footballer has been debated on Radio 5 this morning, but he was certainly the greatest footballing celebrity of his generation. Having played at two of the greatest clubs in the world, Manchester United and Real Madrid, he then went to the ultimate celebrity destination, Los Angeles, and topped it off with a stay in the home of cosmopolitan chic, Paris.
Discussing his retirement from the game, he hinted that the celebrity aspects of his role had distracted from what he saw as the core of his identity, being a footballer. His dual role certainly caused tensions with Sir Alex Ferguson. Financially, he has done well out of it, although much of that is due to his wife, fashion icon and former Spice Girl Victoria. As the New York Times puts it, Beckham has ‘crossover appeal’.
Or as football economics guru Stefan Szymanski puts it in the NYT article, Beckham equalled soccer plus sex. That was irresistible for a lot of people. Certainly a lot of women I know regarded him as ‘eye candy’ and no doubt some men as well. Let’s hope now that he can continue to contribute to the game he clearly loves.