I love scoring goals for England and playing for England. That's one of the reasons I didn't retire - I love playing for my country.

In two years he had gone from being dropped completely from the England squad to being reinstated (though temporarily) as England captain. was ending its endorsement deal with the player after a 10-year collaboration. To ensure they would win the Premier League title United needed to win their final league match of the season at home to Tottenham Hotspur (with reports suggesting that the opposition would allow themselves to be easily beaten to prevent their deadly local rivals Arsenal from retaining the title) but Tottenham took an early lead in the match.

Beckham's professional career began with Manchester United making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches. Beckham has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer when taking into account salary and advertising deals.