DAVID Beckham's retirement will bring an end to a footballing career that went far beyond his sport, and turned a gangly teenager from east London into one of the most recognizable faces on the planet.

Hugely gifted as a player, though far from ranking with greats such as Pele, Maradona and Messi, Beckham's true genius has been his marketability.

Guided by his Spice Girl wife Victoria, Beckham progressively became a fashion icon, a global brand and the world's highest-paid footballer. His fortune is estimated by The Sunday Times Rich List at around US$250 million.

"I have played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and with some of the best players in the world, played under some of the biggest and best managers and achieved almost everything in football," Beckham said Thursday after announcing he would retire at the end of the season.

His career, the first half spent with the Manchester United team he grew up supporting, reads like a Who's Who of club football. Critics of his fame, wealth and good looks overlook an important fact:

Everywhere he went, Beckham won trophies.

The high point of his decade with United was winning the treble in 1999. At the Champions League final in Barcelona, he replaced suspended captain Roy Keane in central midfield for a game that finished in dramatic style - United scored twice in injury time to beat Bayern Munich 2-1.

Beckham's stamina, work-rate, pinpoint passing and deadly free kick abilities helped United to six Premier League titles and two FA Cups. He was a rare Englishmanen sought by a major European club. By joining Real Madrid in 2003, he became a "Galactico" stars in a team that included Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos.

His four years in Spain were relatively meager in terms of major trophies. He then launched his biggest adventure as a player - and as a lucrative vehicle for merchandising and sponsorship - in the United States.

Given his many show business friends on both sides of the Atlantic, it seemed inevitable that if Beckham was going raise the profile of the game in the US, it would be on Hollywood's doorstep.

The LA Galaxy signed him for five years in 2007 and Beckham instantly became the face of US soccer, moving to Beverly Hills and spending time with friends like Tom Cruise and Snoop Dogg.

Despite criticism of his lifestyle and earnings, along with his off-season spells with AC Milan, Beckham helped the Galaxy to two MLS Cup titles.

"He would never need to prove he was worth bringing here," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said in November 2011. "He's done great things for this franchise and great things for this league."

Beckham's final stop, a brief sojourn in the French capital with newly rich Paris Saint-Germain, has yielded his final league title and now a final curtain to a unique footballing career.

But his appeal is not universal. Not everyone likes his celebrity and changing hairstyles, and he has faced big setbacks, on and off the pitch.

Like every England player since 1966, Beckham failed to win a trophy with his country. Although he will be remembered for making a record 115 appearances as an outfield player, and for a stunning free kick against Greece in 2001 that put his country into the following year's World Cup, he has also been a object of hatred.

His red card against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup led to death threats and his effigy was hanged outside a London pub.

Highly-publicized allegations of an affair in 2004 - which Beckham denied - did nothing for his image as a family man.

Yet he remains popular and hugely successful in sport. Beckham helped bring the Olympics to London as a bid ambassadors, though he was not selected for the Great Britain team.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter described Beckham on Thursday as "one of the most iconic figures in global football" and his retirement as "the end of a chapter of an amazing story."

His wealth, showbiz lifestyle and celebrity have taken Beckham a world away from rainy training sessions with United's youth team, and practicing in the park with his dad. Yet trappings of success are not the legacy he wants.

"I just want people to see me as a hardworking footballer," Beckham said in a TV interview on Thursday. "Someone who is passionate about the game, somebody who every time I have stepped on the pitch I have given everything that I have."

Ten things you need to know about Beckham

He's won everywhere he's played...

Beckham has won at least one league title with every team he's joined for a full season. Manchester United won England's Premier League six times with Beckham, including three straight from 1999-2001. Real Madrid captured its first La Liga title in four years in 2007. He led the Los Angeles Galaxy to titles in 2011 and 2012. He joined Paris Saint-Germain in January, and last week the club won its first French league title since 1994.

... Except when he's played for England

England never advanced beyond the World Cup quarterfinals when Beckham was playing, and many blamed him - and his petulant red card against Argentina - for the country's early elimination in 1998.

He was Fergie's boot catcher

Beckham's time at Manchester United came to an unglamorous end when he was hit in the head with a shoe kicked in anger by manager Alex Ferguson. Beckham left Old Trafford shortly after.

He married a Spice girl

Already popular, Beckham reached stratosphere of celebrity when he began dating Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams in 1997. The wedding of "Posh and Becks" two years later garnered breathless international coverage. Tom Cruz hosted a welcome party when they moved to LA. The couple has four children: sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, and daughter Harper.

He's had more hairstyles than goals

OK, not quite. But it's close. Nothing illustrated Beckham's status as a fashion idol more than his ever-changing hair. He was constantly experimenting with color, length and layers.The Fauxhawk is arguably the most famous, but don't forget the cornrows, the shaved head and curious styles.

He once wore a sarong

Really. Just as he wasn't afraid to be edgy with his hair, Beckham pushed the envelope with what he wore, too. He sported a sarong back in 1998, and he and wife Victoria once stepped out in matching black leather outfits.

You've seen him in his underwear

New Yorkers got a very good look at Beckham last year, when retailer H&M covered the side of a midtown building with a picture of him in boxer briefs. He's done steamy ads for H&M and Armani.

He has a movie named after him

The 2002 comedy "Bend It Like Beckham," starring Parminder Nagra, tells the story of a British teenager - and big Beckham fan - who defies her family's wishes to play football.

He loves his country

Beckham's 115 appearances for England are the most for a player other a goalkeeper, and he was captain of the Three Lions from 2001-06. He also was part of the group that helped London win 2012 Olympics.

He's coming back to MLS

Beckham has the right to purchase an expansion team in Major League Soccer, and has said repeatedly that he intends to exercise that option when he is done playing.

(Nancy Armour)