David Beckham Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family

However, Beckham's abilities also earned him numerous plaudits from pundits, players, managers, and other footballing figures alike. Following his arrival at Real Madrid in 2003, the club's president at the time – Florentino Pérez – described Beckham as a "symbol of modern-day stardom," a "great footballer," and as "a very dedicated professional," also lauding him as "one of the best English players of all-time." The following year, Pelé included Beckham in his list of the 125 greatest living football players in the world. In 2010, Craig Farrell of Bleacher Report described Beckham as "one of the best passers of the ball in world football," and as "one of the world's best dead-ball specialists." Regarding Beckham's ability from free kicks, Sebastian Larsson said in 2019: "For me, still to this day, I think David Beckham, when you talk about set pieces, was and is the best I've ever seen." Regarding Beckham's crossing ability, Rob Smyth of The Guardian said in 2014: "he was a great crosser and perhaps the greatest of all time," also noting that "He was a dead-ball specialist and also a dying-ball specialist: [...] his signature crosses in open play involved a ball that was barely moving, which allowed him to use the same technique as with corners and free-kicks." Upon his retirement in 2013, Beckham received praise from numerous pundits and footballing figures: Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report described Beckham as "[o]ne of the best playmaking midfielders of his generation." His former Real Madrid teammate, Zidane, described Beckham as "a tremendous player" who "contributed so much to the success of Manchester United," also labelling him as "a world-class performer." Former Real Madrid player and manager Alfredo Di Stéfano said that "[Beckham] is a player that doesn't only kick a ball perfectly, he is the first player in the side that goes to pressure his opponents in their side of the pitch – he was an excellent pressing player. That's what we had the chance to see from him when he played in England. He is a player that has had success playing football, not just selling clothes." His former A.C. Milan teammate Paolo Maldini described Beckham as "a great champion," and as "one of the best players in the world." His former PSG teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović instead lauded Beckham's elegance on the pitch, noting that he "has a quality," and "a touch that I haven't seen many players have." Nigel Reed of CBC Sports commented on Beckham's career and celebrity status, stating: "His brand is global, his appeal universal. He sparked debate and polarized opinion. But underneath the gloss he was, first and foremost, a very good footballer." He also added that while he felt that "Beckham was not the greatest player of his generation," he believed that he did have the ability to change games, describing him as "master of his art and a deadly opponent," whose "talent was only topped by his passion." Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph stated in 2013: "David Beckham will not be remembered as the greatest English footballer of all time, but he may well be this country's greatest football ambassador," also adding: "He was a very good, often exceptional player. His highlights are plentiful. But since Beckham's career was strategically constructed to create the ultimate corporate footballer, he has only himself to blame for the cynicism through significant chunks of his career and ho-hum feeling many will have now he has retired." In 2017, Gareth Southgate labelled Beckham as one of the group of England's past players who were "very good," but below the likes of the nation's past "top players," such as Gascoigne, Scholes, and Rooney, commenting: "You've got very good players and then there are top players. In my time in the England setup, Paul Gascoigne, Paul Scholes and Rooney just had that little bit more than all the others. And we are talking high‑level people there, players like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Beckham." One of England's most decorated players ever, and a member of England's "golden generation," in 2009, Goal.com placed Beckham at number 13 in their list of England's 50 greatest players ever, while in February 2020, Beckham was ranked 29th in FourFourTwo magazine's list of the 100 greatest Premier League players; The Independent instead ranked Beckham at number 21 in their list of the 100 greatest Premier League players. In July 2019, FourFourTwo also ranked Beckham at number 35 in their list of the "101 greatest football players of the last 25 years."