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World Cup 2002
World Cup 2002 and final season at United
He was partially fit by the time of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and played in the
first match against Sweden. Beckham scored the winning goal of the match against
Argentina with a penalty, causing Argentina to fail to qualify for the playoff
stage. England were knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-finals by
eventual winners Brazil. The following month, at the opening ceremony of the
2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Beckham escorted Kirsty Howard as she
presented the Jubilee Baton to the Queen.
Following an injury early in the 2002-03 season, Beckham was unable to regain
his place on the Manchester United team, with Ole Gunnar Solskj?r having
replaced him on the right side of midfield. His relationship with his manager
deteriorated further on 15 February 2003 when, in the changing room following a
defeat to Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson kicked a football boot that struck Beckham
over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches. The incident led to a great
deal of transfer speculation involving Beckham, with bookmakers offering odds on
whether he or Ferguson would be first to leave the club. Although the team had
started the season badly, their results improved greatly from December onwards
and they won the league. He was still a first-choice player for England,
however, and he was awarded an OBE for services to football on 13 June.
During his 11 years stint at United, Beckham made almost 400 appearances for
them and scored 85 goals.
Real Madrid
Beckham (right) and Zinedine Zidane at Real MadridManchester United had been
keen to sell Beckham to Barcelona but he refused to go there, instead signing a
four-year contract with Real Madrid, worth a potential €35 million. The transfer
was completed on 1 July and made him the third Englishman to play for the club
after Laurie Cunningham and Steve McManaman. It was speculated that Real's
desire to sign him came from the merchandising opportunities he would bring as
well as from his football ability. For example, Real Madrid shirts bearing his
name and number sold out in Madrid on the day his transfer was completed and the
club were expected to receive €624,000 for the sale of the shirts. Although
Beckham had worn the number seven shirt for Manchester United and England, he
was unable to wear it at Madrid as Raúl had the right to wear it written into
his contract. Being a fan of Michael Jordan, he decided to wear 23
instead.[citation needed]
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