Football legend David Beckham is best known for his time spent with Manchester United and Real Madrid.
He was part of United’s iconic treble-winning team in 1999 before becoming a Galatico four years later.
Beckham, who also played 115 times for England and captained the Three Lions, also become the first big-name from British football to move to MLS when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007.
Any transfer involving Beckham was always big news, which was proven when he joined Milan and Paris Saint-Germain for short spells in the latter stages of his playing career.
Beckham did never return to English football after leaving Man United in 2003, but it’s easy to forget that, during MLS off-seasons, the now 44-year-old trained with Arsenal AND Tottenham.
David Beckham is the Man United and Real Madrid wizard Ronaldo thanked, Cantona called a ‘worthy heir’ and Zidane called ‘world class’
In January 2008, he was pictured training wearing the no.23 top at Arsenal, which had been vacated by Sol Campbell when he departed for Portsmouth two years earlier.
At the time, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said: “He is working to be fit for when he moves [back] to Los Angeles in February, so now, in January, we are giving him assistance with his fitness.”
Asked whether he was tempted to sign Beckham on loan, Wenger simply replied: “No.”
Rumours of Beckham making a Premier League return once again surfaced when he started training with Arsenal’s rivals Tottenham in January 2011.
He never joined the club on loan, despite Spurs manager Harry Redknapp’s attempts.
“It’s great to have him here. We worked hard to get him here hoping that he could come and play,” Redknapp said.
“No one could have worked harder than Daniel Levy, the chairman. They grafted away trying to get a deal done where he could play for us. It’s a bit complicated, but you never know. We’ll see how it goes.
“They work on that side of it. I’ve got the easy part. I just identify people, say ‘I’d like to get David – I think he’d be good for us’. It’s up to them. They do the hard work and put the deals on.
“He’s a fit lad, he looks like he’s in great condition, looks like he looks after himself. He’s a model professional so that won’t be a problem. Whether it will be possible to do it, I’m not sure.”
After leaving LA Galaxy in 2012 with two MLS Cup winners’ medals, Beckham returned to train with Arsenal for a second time in January 2013.
Wenger immediately played down speculation of signing the former midfielder on a short-term deal.
He said: “He called me. He has asked to come here and to work on his fitness.
“He has not done anything for a long, long time. [It’s] purely for fitness. There’s no speculation about signing or anything.”
Beckham went on to sign for PSG in that transfer window before retiring from football in the summer of 2013.
He now owns Inter Miami who were playing in their inaugural MLS campaign before the coronavirus pandemic suspended football indefinitely in the US.
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