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This month David Beckham announced his retirement from professional football. With a glistening career, that has seen him play 522 games since turning pro in 1992, Beckham will be truly missed. Playing for teams including Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy, Beckham finally hung up his football boots last week with his latest team Paris Saint-Germain. There is one question that is left on all of our tongues, what will he do next?
There is no doubt that his retirement will give Becks a chance to spend more time with his family. Something Victoria will be thrilled about, though her face may not suggest that. Beckham himself stated. “Nothing will ever completely replace playing the game I love, however I feel like I’m starting a new adventure and I’m genuinely excited about what lies ahead,” before adding “I’m fortunate to have been given many opportunities throughout my career”. This suggests Beckham may be stepping away from football, although there is still a chance for him to come back as a coach, manager or pundit for the game that made him a household name and international brand.
Now to move on from the football. Another option for Becks is to follow in the footsteps of his other half, Victoria, and branch further into the world of fashion. He is clearly a man with great style, though over the years his choice in hairstyle has been both questionable and trendsetting. He also became the first man to grace the covers of the British ELLE last year, and now son Romeo is the latest of the Beckham bunch to join the fashion world, featuring in adverts for Burberry. This is a perfectly plausible idea, only time will tell, but why not I say.
We can’t forget that Beckham has a long history with underwear, and this is the part that I like about him the most. Currently Beckham has a body/underwear range under H&M, which has had huge success in the UK. After playing his final match last week, Beckham appeared at a launch for the underwear in Paris, showing that the folk on the continent love it just as much as we do. His love affair with underwear doesn’t stop with H&M. In the past Beckham has modelled underwear for Armani, both alone and alongside his wife, in a pose that put her steely pout to good use. It is this that has helped to gain more attention for the, now, ex-footballer. With the body that he has, it would quite frankly be rude of him not to share it. His adverts are constantly impressive and I write this thinking of the advert produced by Guy Ritchie a few months ago. Going off of his past track record this is one option that Beckham looks set to carry on.
Currently with an OBE under his belt, bookies have already released odds on Beckham picking up a knighthood at the end of the year. Sir David Beckham does have quite a nice ring to it, and with various charity work and his help with the Olympics it is surely justified. Those are the more realistic things that look set to head Beckham’s way, but there are many more. His friend Tom Cruise has expressed a desire to make him a movie star, which I don’t quite see happening. For me I’m hoping for the Beckhams to become the new version of the Von Trapp family, though this will be affected by Victoria’s less than amazing singing voice. Reality TV is another option. Could we be seeing him waltz his way around the dance floor? Unlikely, though I wouldn’t complain about seeing Beckham in a sequined, sparkly and translucent top on Strictly Come Dancing this autumn.
His career, both on and off of the pitch, has been one that most footballers can only dream of. For me, and many others, it is his off-pitch career that we have paid greater attention to. His underwear campaigns have become a main reason for this. Whatever he does next, there is one thing that I do know: It will be an incredibly bleak day when Becks hangs up his briefs for good.
