One for the connoisseurs of coffee-table art and literature, this sumptuous work represents a farewell to arms by the most famous footballer on the planet.
Not for David Beckham another straightforward autobiography, instead a pictorial reflection on a mega professional sporting career which ended in May 2013 at Paris Saint-Germain.
The man dubbed Goldenballs had his critics, notably those who pointed to an absence of pace and claimed, cruelly, he was seen in the best light when the game had stopped.
Yes, he made himself a master of free-kicks and corners, but his enthusiasm never waned. Put simply, he loved playing football.
When Becks was substituted in the French capital for the last time, those tears were not of the crocodile variety, as he relates: “As the bench gets ready to make the change, my chest is tightening. As the substitution is signalled, I can’t breathe. I don’t want to be emotional, I don’t want to cry, I don’t want to overshadow the match... but I can’t control it. The tears are streaming as I leave the pitch.”
Enjoy images of Beckham’s rise from Ridgeway Rovers’ Under-11s in 1985-86, through the glory, glory days at Manchester United, his 115-cap England career, the move to Real Madrid in 2003, cracking football’s final frontier in the USA at LA Galaxy, magical moments in Milan before that curtain call at PSG.
One picture you won’t find is of him grimacing with a plaster covering the cut over his left eye caused by Sir Alex Ferguson during their spectacular dressing-room fall-out at Old Trafford.
Becks has never been one to bear grudges and while that old curmudgeon Fergie has criticised him in print for chasing a celebrity lifestyle and becoming too big for his boots, his target can afford to smile the smile of a man with the second half of his life to enjoy with Victoria.
There is, after all, the little matter of bringing up Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper, endorsing whatever products he fancies and starting a new Major League Soccer team in Miami.
Beckham signs off with this simple, yet sensible, suggestion to his legion of devoted fans: Whatever you do in life, give it everything you’ve got, with a smile on your face.
Well played, David.
Quiz question:
We’ve teamed up with Sports Book of the Month and have a copy of DAVID BECKHAM to give away.
To win this week’s sports book, go their website ( www.sportsbookofthemonth.com ) and answer the following question:
Which team did David score the best goal of his career against from his own half in 1996?
