DAVID BECKHAM ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT FROM ACTIVE FOOTBALL

DAVID BECKHAM ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT  FROM FOOTBALL

David Beckham announces his soccer retirement on Thursday, bringing down the curtain on a unique career that cannot be defined by any usual standards.

The past 20 years of the Beckham show cannot be measured in simple statistics, although nearly 800 games, 10 league championships and participation in three World Cups tell a compelling story of a man who operated at the top of his profession in a career largely spent with some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Beckham's reach was greater than that though, transcending even the most globally popular of all sports.  His looks, good nuturedness and marriage to Spice girl Victoria created a fascination with the now 38-year-old that saw his face adorn billboards in over 100 countries and represent charities and leading brands alike.

England's David Beckham celebrates his goal against Azerbaijan in 2005That level of attention lavished upon an athlete is always going to bring some suspicion about their commitment to the game, but Beckham remained a fierce competitor, and for all the celebrity shoulder-rubbing and glitzy photo shoots, soccer success never dimmed in its importance to him

His announcement Thursday came after his current and final club, French side Paris St Germain, clinched its first title in 19 years. After two more games to close out the French season, Beckham will hang up his cleats once and for all.

"I'm thankful to PSG for giving me the opportunity to continue but I feel now is the right time to finish my career, playing at the highest level," Beckham said in a statement.

American fans will naturally remember him most for what he gave to the game in the United States over the course of five and a half years with the Los Angelis Galaxy, winning back to back the MLS cup  and establishing that franchise as the heavyweight of the league.

The impossible task of putting the game on a popularity par with the long-established American sports was ultimately beyond him, as it was always going to be, yet there is no doubt he served to heighten the game's overall reach and left an imprint on the pubic consciousness.

Merely coming to the States, while in his early 30s and still capable of performing at the highest level, sent a powerful statement about the future upside of MLS, and the league continues to build upon that boost of attention and credibility.

If Beckham is honest, he will admit there were moments of regret during his first two seasons, as the Galaxy floundered on the field and the whole experiment threatened to collapse.

Yet he came to love American soccer and society and the energy he put into the Galaxy's cause in his final two years left no doubt that he had found peace in Los Angeles.

A clause in his Galaxy contract that allows him to purchase an MLS franchise at a knockdown rate means American soccer has almost certainly not seen the last of him.