OTD 2003 - Beckham signs for Real Madrid

Live Forever

Live Forever

Well-Known Member
Official Ticketer
Beckham signed for Madrid adding to the Galacticos 17 years ago today.

Thoughts on him? Top player IMO. Went to LA far too soon.
 
England’s most capped outfield player and played for 2 of the best clubs in Europe through his peak.

Could have played in Madrid for another couple of seasons but you could see why he went especially seeing as his MLS club was part of the deal I think?

Under rated by some because of his celebrity persona
 
Great with Man U. Celebrity status went to his head, still a good player but never really recaptured that form.
 
Carried England at times . Maybe not the most naturally gifted but shows what hard work can add to very good players , was well known for staying behind and working on free kicks etc for hours after training .
 
If I remember right he was the only Englishman to applaud our fans the night Northern Ireland beat them at Windsor. Always thought his behaviour displayed a certain amount of testicular fortitude. Would have loved him at Ibrox on one of his end of career loan deals.
 
Good player but massively overrated due to his profile. Trading in a good portion of his career to be a celeb instead. Obviously his incredible set piece ability is what I always remember, that and daft haircuts.
 
Danger Zone said:
Good player but massively overrated due to his profile. Trading in a good portion of his career to be a celeb instead. Obviously his incredible set piece ability is what I always remember, that and daft haircuts.
Click to expand...
Daft haircut and a skirt springs to mind
 
Like to have seen him go to Barcelona rather than Real, Barcelona were at a lull at the time and Ronaldinho is seen as a legend there for what he did - that could have been Beckham. The number 23 thing was pretty poor as well. Hope he does something with English Football again one day, seems a waste all the Inter Miami stuff.
 
Warren Hill said:
Played at Ibrox for AC Milan in a friendly against Rangers. After the game he spoke for an hour to all of the media and radio and left no one out for an interview.
When he was finished the rest of the Milan party were on the team bus.
He gave Rangers the utmost respect that night.
Click to expand...
Never seen as many women at Ibrox as that night
 
Wazza said:
Like to have seen him go to Barcelona rather than Real, Barcelona were at a lull at the time and Ronaldinho is seen as a legend there for what he did - that could have been Beckham. The number 23 thing was pretty poor as well. Hope he does something with English Football again one day, seems a waste all the Inter Miami stuff.
Click to expand...
A waste to you maybe - he’s living in Miami owning a football team !
 
Excellent player, worked his balls off and probably slightly overlooked now because of his success off the park.

His passing was out of this world. Some of his assists for Madrid were absolutely mind-boggling.
 
A regular first team player for Manchester United for 10+ trophy filled seasons straight.

115 caps for England, 58 as captain.

155 appearances for Real Madrid.

Wasted in L.A and still managed to see out his career at AC Milan and PSG.

150 career goals in over 820 appearances - club and country.

Ballon d'Or runner up.
World player of the year award on two occassions.
England POTY.
UEFA club player of the year.
UEFA midfielder of the year.
UEFA team of the year x 2.
Real Madrid POTY.
PFA team of the year x 4.
Premiership top assists on three occassions.
England hall of fame.
UEFA president award.

A model professional, talented footballer, with excellent work rate, great reading of the game and had some of the best distribution about.

His off the park work should also be commended.

Good looking khünt too.

Haters gonna hate.
 
I read at the time that increased shirt sales alone more than matched the transfer fee.

And they got a fantastic player into the bargain.
 
He was absolutely unbelievable between 98 and 99. So underrated. He was virtually excellent in every game during 99 and was very unlucky not to win Ballon D'or.

Was lucky enough to meet the great an earlier this year and he is as nice as you expect him to be. He was full of praise for Stevie and the Gers when he found out my team :cool:
 
CaptainCourageous said:
A regular first team player for Manchester United for 10+ trophy filled seasons straight.

115 caps for England, 58 as captain.

155 appearances for Real Madrid.

Wasted in L.A and still managed to see out his career at AC Milan and PSG.

150 career goals in over 820 appearances - club and country.

Ballon d'Or runner up.
World player of the year award on two occassions.
England POTY.
UEFA club player of the year.
UEFA midfielder of the year.
UEFA team of the year x 2.
Real Madrid POTY.
PFA team of the year x 4.
Premiership top assists on three occassions.
England hall of fame.
UEFA president award.

A model professional, talented footballer, with excellent work rate, great reading of the game and had some of the best distribution about.

His off the park work should also be commended.

Good looking khünt too.

Haters gonna hate.
Click to expand...

Not think only winning one trophy in 5 years at Real Madrid was a letdown? That first season was bad there, remember when they went out to Monaco Real were all over the place. Absolutely superb at Man U but after Club wise was a bit of a letdown really, amazing he only played in one tie past the CL second round when he left Man U.
 
Last edited:
Wazza said:
Like to have seen him go to Barcelona rather than Real, Barcelona were at a lull at the time and Ronaldinho is seen as a legend there for what he did - that could have been Beckham. The number 23 thing was pretty poor as well. Hope he does something with English Football again one day, seems a waste all the Inter Miami stuff.
Click to expand...
Why would he want to do something with english football? Hes living the life of luxury in miami :)) English football isn’t the be all and end all of football
 
hunter1rfc said:
Why would he want to do something with english football? Hes living the life of luxury in miami :)) English football isn’t the be all and end all of football
Click to expand...

It isn't agreed, just where he is from - always good to see ex players put something back in to the game at home. Look at Bayern Munich for example and all the ex players they have involved, must beat businessmen being involved.
 
Fantastic player. World-class.

His passing, crossing and set pieces were among the best in the world for a number of years. Add to that his work-rate which was phenomenal...

Anyone that tries to say he was just good at free kicks knows nothing about football.
 
A centre forwards dream having Beckham pinging crosses to you. His assist/passing highlight reel on youtube shows how good he was, particularly at Madrid
 
Barrymoped said:
I still remember around 97 or 98 when I was about 18, a guy used to mince about the centre of Killie pretending to be Beckham. A club called Expo was the place to be back then and this guy came in, fake tan, blond middle shed and a Sarong!!
Click to expand...
Brilliant!:D
 
Such a shite way to get sent off

_124065_beckham_foul_010798_vidcap_300.jpg
 
A fantastic player. He always seemed to carry himself very well and was definently a real role model for young football fans.
 
themightyi said:
An outstanding player that isn’t given the credit he’s due because of his celebrity status.

You don’t play for Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and PSG if you’re not an exceptional footballer.
Click to expand...

That might have meant something at one time but not so much in the modern game. At least two, possibly three, of those moves were the transfer of image rights for marketing purposes more than anything.

It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion Alex Ferguson called it right - his head was turned by his wife and he seems more intent on promoting his brand than anything else.
 
Taki said:
That might have meant something at one time but not so much in the modern game. At least two, possibly three, of those moves were the transfer of image rights for marketing purposes more than anything.

It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion Alex Ferguson called it right - his head was turned by his wife and he seems more intent on promoting his brand than anything else.
Click to expand...

It’s only difficult to avoid that conclusion if you’re starting from a certain perspective and working backwards.

A superb player for club and country.
 
Danger Zone said:
Good player but massively overrated due to his profile. Trading in a good portion of his career to be a celeb instead. Obviously his incredible set piece ability is what I always remember, that and daft haircuts.
Click to expand...

Just shows how opinions can differ, I personally always thought he was underrated due to his profile. Incredible deliveries and an unbelievable work ethic. World Class at his peak. As far as wide players went, only Figo was better around that time imo.

Agree with the sentiments of the thread though, went to America far too early. People are driven by different things I suppose.
 
If you’d have said when he left Man U that he would only win one major trophy and play in one tie past the second round of the champions league that decade you’d have been laughed at.
 
Wazza said:
Not think only winning one trophy in 5 years at Real Madrid was a letdown? That first season was bad there, remember when they went out to Monaco Real were all over the place. Absolutely superb at Man U but after Club wise was a bit of a letdown really, amazing he only played in one tie past the CL second round when he left Man U.
Click to expand...

Didn't know he only won one trophy with Real. That's incredible given the team they had with Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo etc.

I'm sure I remembering being in Spain when everyone thought Beckham was going to Barca but then they signed Ronaldinho instead and Beckham went to Real.

Agree with those who say his career is often overlooked due to the Beckham-the celeb, however at his peak he was superb. Also, after Man Utd and Real Madrid what else is there to prove?

Good on him, seems like a good bloke.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Latest posts

Back
Top