Elegant audacity: It is the opening day of the 1996/97 Premier League season and Manchester United are away at Wimbledon, strolling in the sun to a comfortable win as the match enters injury time. After a midfield jostle for possession falls United’s way, the ball arrives at the foot of 21-year-old David Beckham, who uses his newly acquired Adidas Predator boots to do something even the great Pele could not pull off at the 1970 World Cup score from inside his own half. Seeing Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan well off his line, Beckham strokes the ball with a side-footed drive from 55 yards out, and seconds later, it hits the back of the net on the full. The most famous goal in Premier League football is scored, making Beckham an instant sensation.

Delivering destiny: Barcelona’s pristine Camp Nou is the stage for the 1999 Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s team have just equalised in added time. With an extra 30 minutes on the horizon, Beckham is entrusted with a pivotal set piece. His corner delivery is immaculate (as always) and lands right in the danger area where an alert Teddy Sheringham knocks it down for his strike partner Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to toe-poke past Oliver Kahn. Hysteric jubilations ensue as Fergie’s Red Devils clinch a historic treble with Beckham at the heart of a remarkable turnaround.

Carrying his country: England are staring at potential absence from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, down 2-1 to Greece in a crunch qualifying game in October 2001 at Old Trafford. Stoppage time gets underway and the Three Lions get a free-kick. Beckham, now England skipper, must score if England are to secure a World Cup berth. With his steely eyes and geometrically measured run up, Beckham approaches the dead ball and makes it come alive with a sublime swing of his right foot. The inevitable outcome sends the stadium into raptures as captain fantastic delivers yet again for his nation.

Redemption from the spot: England and Argentina are deadlocked at 0-0 in a high-voltage group stage encounter at the 2002 World Cup. Four years ago against the same opposition, Beckham confronts the nadir of his professional career as he sees red en route to an ignominious English exit. This time around, Beckham has the chance to be a hero, as a penalty is awarded to England on the cusp of half-time. Having nurtured the pain of letting his country down on the biggest stage in the last World Cup, Beckham, imperturbable, turns match-winner in Sapporo with a neatly slotted penalty, exorcising the ghosts of St Etienne.

Classic Beckham in the Clasico: Six goals, a slew of memorable sequences, and a masterclass from David Beckham. El Clasico in April 2005 sees Real Madrid romp to a 4-2 victory, with the English midfielder pulling the strings in a pulsating game. First, Beckham picks out the head of Brazilian star Ronaldo to consolidate Real’s lead at the Santiago Bernabeu. Then, in the second half, Beckham’s vision produces a delectable through ball for compatriot Michael Owen, who seals Barcelona’s fate with Madrid’s fourth goal of the night. Even though Real miss out on winning the league, Beckham’s all-round display crowns an unforgettable result for Los Merengues.

Enlivening America: The most high-profile import in American football (or rather, soccer) history makes his first start for LA Galaxy against DC United in the semi-final of the 2007 North American SuperLiga. Beckham does not waste any time in introducing his magic to his newest followers by dispatching a characteristically unstoppable free-kick with devastating accuracy. America witnesses the Beckham bend adorning leather for the first time as the goal kick-starts a dream spell for Beckham in Los Angeles.

Tears in Paris: After a journey that has taken him to some of the world’s most glamorous cities and its prestigious football clubs, Beckham brings the curtain down on his 20-year extravaganza in the summer of 2013, playing for Paris Saint-Germain. The occasion is a Ligue 1 match against Brest, which PSG win 2-0, with Beckham, fittingly, assisting the second goal from a trademark corner. As his number shows up on the fourth official’s board indicating his substitution in the last quarter of the game, Beckham cannot hold back the tears. Play comes to a temporary halt as Beckham’s teammates congregate in the middle of the pitch while Parisians serenade him from the stands, creating a picture-perfect farewell for one of the most celebrated athletes of his generation.

David and Victoria Beckham Sourced by the Telegraph

The journey to stardom

From his debonair looks (complete with buzz cuts, mohawks and ponytails) to his acclaimed better half to his philanthropic endeavours and social engagements, David Beckham has transcended football to become a bona fide cultural icon. Here’s how he went from just another talented English youngster to one of the most recognisable personalities on the planet:

• In 1997, Beckham starts dating Victoria Adams (in picture right), famously known as Posh Spice as part of the pop music group Spice Girls. The couple gets married two years later, with the media swooning over their combined celebrity, after images from the wedding of David and Victoria sitting on golden thrones get circulated. “Posh and Becks” soon move to a country house, spread over 24 acres, in Hertfordshire, which is promptly hailed as the “Beckingham Palace”.
  
  
• Beckham’s first of four children, Brooklyn, is born in March 1999, with Elton John as his godfather and Elizabeth Hurley as his godmother! David and Victoria go on to have three more kids — two sons and a daughter — between 2002 and 2011.
  
  
• In an article for Salon in 2002, English journalist Mark Simpson defines David Beckham as “the biggest metrosexual man in Britain”, qualifying his assessment by adding that the recipient of the title “has clearly taken himself as his own love object and pleasure as his sexual preference”!
  
  
• In 2003, Beckham signs a bumper lifetime contract with German giant Adidas, worth 160 million dollars, with nearly half the amount paid up front.
  
  
• Google reveals that the words “David Beckham” are searched for more than any other sports topic on the search engine in 2003 and 2004.
  
  
• Lloyd’s of London, an insurance corporate body, insures Beckham’s legs for 100 million pounds in 2006 while Beckham is plying his trade in Spain for Real Madrid.
  
  
• Victoria Beckham praises her husband on national television in 2008 for rebuilding his reputation following a disastrous 1998 World Cup, giving David the moniker of “Golden Balls” for his fortitude.
  
  
• Alongside the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Defence Secretaries, Beckham is part of a morale-boosting delegation in May 2010 that visits British troops fighting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
  
  
• September 2010 sees Beckham appeal to court against claims made in American gossip magazine In Touch, which alleges several illicit affairs had by the player, stories that are later accepted as untrue.
  
  
• The arrival of the Olympics to London in 2012 involves a key role by Beckham, who is marketed as the leading face of the competition, featuring in the opening ceremony by spectacularly transporting the Olympic flame to the stadium via a speedboat!
  
  
• Authorities in China appoint Beckham as the global ambassador for Chinese football in March 2013, as the Chinese Super League tries to capitalise on Beckham’s renown to cleanse a reputation tainted by match-fixing scandals.
  
  
• Beckham associates with Swedish retailer H&M in February 2013 to launch his own collection of boxers and briefs, which, of course, he models himself!