David Beckham Announces Retirement From Football

David Beckham, the English midfielder who combined devastating free kicks, dashing good looks and savvy marketing to become one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, announced Thursday that he would retire from soccer at season’s end.
      

Beckham, 38, has played his final season for Paris St.-Germain, adding a French league championship to the ones he won in England with Manchester United, in Spain with Real Madrid and in the United States with the Los Angeles Galaxy. His achievements on the field and smart branding by his camp and the shoe company Adidas made him an icon of his generation and a household name everywhere the game is played.

Over the course of his career, Beckham became as much a pop culture icon as a soccer player. He married a Spice Girl, the former Victoria Adams, and they own an Italian villa in Beverly Hills. His face adorns billboards in dozens of countries. According to Forbes, he was the world’s highest-paid soccer player in 2012 at $50.6 million, including his endorsements, which also made him the eighth highest paid athlete in the world.(keep reading)