Brand it like Beckham

How Sir David Beckham used his image to become a global star

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When David Beckham was 11 years old, he was featured in a newspaper article for winning a soccer-skills competition. Forty years on, the former Manchester United and England star – known today as Sir David, having been knighted in 2025 – has become one of the most photographed men on the planet.

Now, this week’s instalment of In Ten Pictures shows how Beckham has used his image and good looks to turn himself into a national hero and a global brand by knowing when to take risks and when to play the media at its own game.

Just a few weeks ago, it was revealed that he had become Britain’s first billionaire sportsman.

‘He is the most influential footballer, in the biggest sense of the word, that there has ever been,’ says PR agent Alan Edwards.