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Danielle de Wolfe
10 February 2015

We all know David Beckham is an icon of football and fashion, loved everywhere from Manchester to the Mekong river and beyond. However, there’s plenty of stuff you might not know about him. For example, his middle name is Keith. OK, we made that one up. But we present 15 things you (probably) didn’t know about the man lovingly referred to as Golden Balls.

1. Four times, four countries

No, not his kids. He won the football league with Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain, becoming the first Englishman to win the league in four different countries.


2. Great Instinct

Beckham launched his first fragrance, Instinct, an amazing ten years ago and since has sold more than 10 million bottles. That’s the equivalent of two every minute!


3. Film star

Beckham had cameos in both Goal! and Goal II: Living The Dream. However, scheduling conflicts meant he couldn’t appear in Bend It Like Beckham. Awww…


4. Expensive pins

Pianists insure their hands, what does Goldenballs insure? His legs, obviously. Apparently he's got them insured for a cool $70 million!


5. Big heart

During his title-winning run with Paris St Germain, Beckham donated every penny he earned to a children’s charity. There’s a reason Victoria calls him “Golden Balls”.


6. School's Out

Preferring to be on the sports field rather than in class, Beckham dropped out of school aged 16, disproving your mum’s theory that “you’ll never amount to anything by leaving school early”.


7. Red or white?

Most people have given wine as a gift, bit not many have given a whole winery. That's the gift David bought Victoria once. Nice touch.


8. Fave Movie

Is it Top Gun, starring his pal Tom Cruise? Independence Day starring his old mucker Will Smith? No, apparently it's Pixar hit Ratatouille with the cartoon talking rats.


9. Who Ate All The Pies?

You can take the boy out of East London… Such a fan is Beckham of East End pie and mash, he has it delivered wherever he is (reportedly, even when he lived in Paris).


10. Girls on film

David first saw Victoria on TV in the Spice Girls video 'Say You’ll Be There' in November 1996, while on England duty. A few months later, they were dating. You've got that song in your head now.


11. No birds allowed

Beckham suffers from ornithophobia – a fear of birds. So if you were thinking of ever buying him a kestrel, you can forget it.


12. Loves Del and Rodney

We all know he appeared with the Only Fools And Horses gang in a Comic Relief special last year. However, Becks is also a huge fan of the show, and used to watch the Christmas specials with his family.


13. Global domination

David Beckham became a global ambassador for Chinese football in 2013. His mission is to boost the sport's profile in China; indeed, he even appeared on an episode of China's version of The Voice in 2014.


14. Neat freak

David is a self-confessed sufferer of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD and has spoken about re-arranging hotel rooms and lining up his cans of drink in the fridge to make 'everything perfect'.


15. Tat stats

David's body is adorned with over 20 tattoos. These include Victoria's name written in Hindi, his son's names and his daughter Harper's name, which is inscribed on his neck. Another is a bible verse written in Hebrew.