2013 certainly witnessed the close of a glorious era in English football. It appears that Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement was the first of a spate of retirements involving the great Manchester United team that dominated English football in the 1990s and early in the 21st century.
Phil Neville, now at Everton, was the first former Fergie charge to announce his retirement this season at the end of the season - his older brother, Gary and teammate, Nicky Butt retired several seasons ago now. After Fergie's shock announcement last Wednesday, Paul Scholes and now David Beckham have announced their retirements from the sport.
The news of the retirement of the most marketable footballer in the world comes as no real surprise. At 38, Beckham is definitely at the age where most footballers hang up their boots and after winning another league title in another country, this time with cash-rich PSG in France, David has decided to spend a bit more time with Posh and his 4 lovely kids in London.
Well, not quite, he has signed a deal with Chinese football to help them grow the game in China. That move sums up David Beckham - a brilliant and generous entrepreneur who has done plenty of good for the beautiful game on and off the field, and will continue to do so in the near future.
Since that wonder goal against Wimbledon in 1996, Beckham has worked hard to become the most marketable footballer in the world - and ended up prizing himself out of his beloved Manchester United in 2003. Marriage to Posh Spice definitely took Beckham - and football's - standing to heights never imagined before and even if Beckham's lustre has somewhat faded in his 30s, the Beckham brand is still one of the most recognisable and profitable in world sport.
But all that gain has not been for his own self. David Beckham is one of the great philanthropists in the world, having devoted plenty of his time to UNICEF - and of course, 6 month's of Qatari money for playing for PSG was donated to a children's charity in Paris.
David is also a great patriot for his country, playing a big role in getting the Olympics back to London for the first time since 1948.
His biggest contribution to world football though was taking the gamble of going to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2006 to play in an "inferior" MLS with not many big names, surviving for so long and turning the MLS into one of the strongest leagues in world football and one that attracts stars - Robbie Keane, Thierry Henry, etc. have joined Beckham in the move to the US. Once a league for specialist cable TV, the MLS is now broadcast on national TV and its ratings have never been higher, while expansion continues abreast in new markets across the USA and Canada.
So here's to a top bloke, and a top man. Enjoy the retirement!
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