[68] There was speculation in the British media that the injury might have been caused deliberately, as the player who had injured Beckham was Argentine Aldo Duscher, and England and Argentina were due to meet in that year's World Cup.

His relationship with his manager deteriorated further on 15 February 2003 when, in the changing room following an FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, a furious Alex Ferguson threw or kicked a boot that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches.

[82] The transfer to Real Madrid was announced in mid-June and formally completed on 1 July 2003, making Beckham the third Englishman to play for the club, after Laurie Cunningham and Steve McManaman, the latter of whom he succeeded in his position.

Following a successful medical on 2 July, Beckham was unveiled in front of 500 accredited journalists from 25 countries at the club's basketball facility, where he was handed the famous white shirt by former Real Madrid player Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Queiroz mostly favoured the adaptable 5–3–2 formation, with two fullbacks Míchel Salgado and Roberto Carlos, often joining the attack down the wings, while Beckham played on the right of the three-man midfield, alongside Zidane and Figo.

[91] The league season began with new head coach José Antonio Camacho at the helm, but he ended up lasting only three matches, handing in his resignation as Real dropped to eighth spot in the La Liga standings.

Initially out of favour with newly arrived head coach Fabio Capello, Beckham started only a few games at the beginning of the season, as the speedier José Antonio Reyes was normally preferred on the right wing.

[101] With his wife and children, along with celebrity friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, watching from a luxury box at the Santiago Bernabéu, it was only Beckham's second piece of silverware since he joined the famous club.

[108] To maximise the media effect, in the press release they decided to list the potential sum that Beckham could make over the five-year period from all his revenue sources, which in addition to his Galaxy pay, also include his personal endorsements.

Involved on many business fronts worldwide, AEG was already leveraging its Beckham association in places such as Shanghai and Beijing, where the company had been working aggressively for years to receive clearance to build arenas and stadiums.

He made the cover of Sports Illustrated, a few weeks earlier Adidas launched the extensive 13-part ad campaign "Fútbol meets Football" starring Beckham and NFL running back Reggie Bush, and W magazine published a racy photo spread featuring David and wife Victoria photographed by Steven Klein.

[117] On Saturday afternoon, 21 July, despite still nursing the injured left ankle that he picked up a month earlier during the final match of La Liga's season, Beckham made his Galaxy debut, coming on for Alan Gordon in the 78th minute of a 0–1 friendly loss to Chelsea as part of the World Series of Soccer.

[118] With a capacity crowd, along with a long Hollywood celebrity list featuring Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Eva Longoria, Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and Drew Carey among others, present at the Home Depot Center, the match was broadcast live on ESPN's main network.

[119] Beckham missed the next four LA Galaxy matches – three in the North American SuperLiga and an MLS game away at Toronto FC - though he still made the trip with his teammates, sitting on the bench in street clothes.

He hit a long free kick that Carlos Pavón failed to finish on for the equaliser, and then in the final minutes Beckham served a weighted through ball into Landon Donovan's path that United's keeper Troy Perkins managed to break up in the last moment – the Galaxy lost 1–0.

The day after his unveiling, Beckham was brought to the San Siro, where he was introduced to the home fans by walking out on the pitch before the league match versus Udinese and proclaiming "Forza Milan" over the public address system.

[146] Following the final whistle, he aroused a bit of controversy by draping the green-and-gold scarf around his neck that was given to him by the Manchester United supporters protesting against club owner Malcolm Glazer.

[147] In Milan's next game, against Chievo, Beckham suffered a torn left Achilles tendon,[148] causing him to miss the World Cup as well as the MLS season due to the injury, which took him out of action for the next five months.

Many supporters and journalists blamed Beckham for England's elimination and he became the target of criticism and abuse, including the hanging of an effigy outside a London pub, and the Daily Mirror printing a dartboard of him.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kieran Richardson and the World Cup alternative to Beckham, Aaron Lennon, were all included, although McClaren eventually opted to employ Steven Gerrard in that role.

On 11 February 2009, Beckham drew level with Bobby Moore's record of 108 caps for an English outfield player, coming on as a substitute for Stewart Downing in a friendly match against Spain.

[217] He was not included in the final selection by manager Stuart Pearce, while Andy Hunt, the head the British Olympic Association, contacted Beckham's representatives for him to be related to Team GB more broadly.

[221] Predominantly right-footed, his range of passing, vision, crossing ability and bending free-kicks enabled him to create chances for teammates or score goals, attributes that saw him excel as a right winger, despite his lack of significant pace.

"[246] During Beckham's time with Milan, his manager Carlo Ancelotti praised the Englishman for his intelligence and work-rate, in particular the improvements he demonstrated to the technical and tactical aspects of his game, which allowed him to compensate for his loss of pace.

"[242] Earlier in his career, Beckham's discipline during matches was brought into question on occasion in the media, due to his temper and his tendency to commit rash challenges and pick up unnecessary bookings.

[254] Despite his success, popularity, and playing ability, critical reception of Beckham was often divided among sporting figures and fans throughout his career, in part – as Subhankar Mondal of Goal notes – due to his ventures off the pitch, and the widespread coverage that his personal life received.

[258] His former Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson, speculated in 2007 that Beckham's increasing celebrity status, in particular following his highly publicised relationship with his future wife Victoria, had actually had a negative impact on his playing career.

He also added that while he felt that "Beckham was not the greatest player of his generation," he believed he had the ability to change games, describing him as "master of his art and a deadly opponent", whose "talent was only topped by his passion.

Germany's Der Spiegel and France's L'Equipe published details of the hack, reporting how Beckham was angry at not being granted a knighthood in 2013, and that the Honours Committee was concerned about his tax affairs due to input from UK government department HMRC.

After numerous officials had been banned for match-fixing, and the Chinese Super League had failed to retain the services of well-known international names, Beckham's role was to help improve the image of the game and raise its profile both in China and abroad.