After winning the Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills finals aged 11 in 1986, Beckham was approached by Manchester United scouts. At the age of 12 he was already ear-marked as a star of the future by Fergie who used to take the young superstar to meet the stars of the day in the United dressing room when they played in London . His parents decided he should finish his school years so it wasn't until 1991 that he became a trainee, before signing professional in 1993. His debut came as a sub at Brighton in September 1992 but it was two years later that his first full starting appearance came against Galatasaray in Nov 1994, a game in which he scored. Beckham was later loaned out to Preston NE for 5 games to gain first team experience and in April 1995 he made his full League debut against Leeds United at Old Trafford.

Beckham soon rose to prominence in the 1996 season as one of "Fergie's Fledglings" announcing his arrival as a 1st team regular with a cracking 30 yard effort at Aston Villa. The sale of Andrei Kanchelskis and the manager's faith in his young stars gave Beckham his opportunity. Excelling in the wide right position despite his preference for a central role Becks was influential in helping United to the League and FA Cup double. He scored a memorable brace at home to Notts Forest to put United on track for the title and a vital equaliser in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea .

He really hit the headlines in 1996-97 with his goal of the season against Wimbledon , a 55 yard lob from the half-way line on the opening day. Soon the media couldn't get enough of him. After season of great performances, growing reputation for spectacular long range goals and with his girlfriend a Spice Girl (then at the height of their short lived success), all added up to make David Beckham a national celebrity.

However, it turned out to be a stalling tactic. In early June 2003 United announced they had agreed a fee with Barcelona for Beckham for £23 million knowing full well that he was negotiating with Real Madrid.

As suspected all along, Beckham had wanted to go to the Bernabeu giants and they wanted to add him to their "galaxy" of stars - a clandestine deal was made as far back as early May. Beckham sealed to real madrid on 2nd July.