On October 30, 2008, David Beckham revealed that he would be joining AC Milan on loan, a loan spell which began in January of 2009. However, despite this and other speculation, Beckham made clear his intentions to return to Galaxy for the start of the new MLS season in March. He chose to wear the number 32 shirt, as the number 7 and 23 shirts were taken by Alexandre Pato and Massimo Ambrosini respectively. He was introduced to the Milan crowd at the San Siro before the match against Udinese, and he spoke the words “Forza Milan” through the clubs address system.
After recovering from fitness issues, Beckham made his Milan debut on January 6, 2009 in a friendly against Hamburg at Dubai’s Sevens Stadium. He made his competitive debut for Milan in Serie A as a starter away at AS Roma on January 11, 2009, playing 89 minutes of the 2-2 draw at the Stadio Olympico. He turned back to Milan on loan for a second time in November 2009, once the MLS season had ended. He would make his 2nd competitive debut for Milan on January 6, 2010 and would play 75 minutes of a 5-2 victory over Genoa.
On February 16, 2010, Beckham played against Manchester United for the first time since leaving the club in 2003. He played 76 minutes of the match at the San Siro, a match which Manchester United won 3-2. He would then return to Old Trafford for the second leg of the Champions League quarter final tie against Manchester United, and would get a more than warm welcome back to the club. He didn’t start the match, but was subbed on in place of Ignazio Abate on the 64th minute. The score at that point was already 3-0 to Manchester United, but the match ended 4-0 to United, and it ended with a 7-2 aggregate score line in favor of the Premier League side.
Following the final whistle, Beckham got caught up in controversy after putting a green and gold scarf around his name (the colors of Newton Heath). It was a scarf given to him by a fan at the game, and it was in support of protests against the club owner Malcolm Glazer. However, when asked about whether he was in support of the on-going protests, Beckham responded by saying they are not his business. In Milan’s next game, Beckham suffered a torn left Achilles tendon, which caused him to miss the MLS season and the World Cup. It was an injury that left him out of action for 5 months.
On January 29, 2013, Beckham began training with Arsenal, but any deal was quashed straight away by manager Arsene Wenger as the sole reason for Beckham being there was to improve fitness. Ahead of Transfer Deadline Day on January 31st, it was announced that Beckham was undergoing a medical with Paris Saint-Germain ahead of a potential move to the Ligue 1 side. He signed a 5-month contract at the club and also confirmed that his entire salary at the club would be donated to the local children’s charity.
He made his PSG debut on February 24 when he came off the bench in the 76th minute in a Ligue 1 home match against Olympique Marseille. This made him the 400th player in the history of their club. On May 12, 2013, Beckham won a fourth different top flight winners’ medal after PSG beat Lyon 1-0 to claim the Ligue 1 title.
On May 16, 2013, Beckham announced that he was to retire from professional football at the end of the French league season. He made his final ever professional appearance on May 18 against Brest and was made captain for the game. He assisted a goal scored eventually by Matuidi from a corner. He was subbed off after 80 minutes, and received hugs from his fellow players as well as a standing ovation from all fans inside the ground. PSG went on to win the game 3-1.
Written by OneFutbol