First of all, happy birthday to the legend. A true professional and who love his games to the max.

Now, back to the question: was he ever belong to the greatest?

Let's have a healthy debate here, give your reason why or why not. Not just orverrated, or just money and shirt...

Well, statistically he was, 2 times runner up for the old Balon'Or. Played for 4 of the greatest clubs in different countries at the time. And in one of them he didnt take a penny, all go to Charity.

I have him in my ava, been following him at MU since i was a kid, followed his matches everywhere he went. It might be bias, but this guy is a true professional. And a role model for every player to follow.

Beckham always thought he was the greatest, which was one of the main reasons Sir Alex sold him in the first place - the whole "no player is bigger than the club" mantra. If we're looking at a highlight reel, it is pretty easy to say, yes, Beckham is an all-time great.

I however, would disagree. His lack of workrate, continuous meltdowns, and diva attitude lowers my personal esteem of him as a player. I find it hard to put him up with Messi, the Ronaldos, Ronaldinho, Cafu, and Nesta. Of course, I only caught the tail end of his career, and never saw him play in his prime. If I had, my opinion might be very different.

I will say this, he did change how the game was played. His free kicks have directly impacted nearly every set piece effort taken today, so I suppose he deserves credit for being the best in the world at something - but that something does not elevate him in my mind as one of the all-time greats.

He's an English legend, but I don't think he's anywhere near all-time great for football as a whole. He was a terrific player, and as SunFlash said, he revolutionized how free-kicks are taken. But then again, so did Juninho. Beyond that, his long-range passing was impeccable. The only player I can think of who was better at long-range passing in recent times would be Xabi Alonso. His vision and touch were great too. He was never considered, however, as one of the very best in the world at any given time. So why should he be considered an all-time great?

Players like Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Cafu, Carlos, Maldini, Shevchenko, Scholes, etc. were up there among the "best players in the world". Beckham was surely just beneath them - if not then he must be considered alongside them. But never was he better than any of those players on that list. Beckham's success and popularity came largely from his marketability, which made him a globally recognizable talent. It actually works against him because people tend to forget that he was a bloody good player on the pitch too, but I have never considered him to even be close to the all-time greats and I certainly can't now.

I'd say Beckham is like a van Nistelrooy or Cantona type of player. He was very good, good enough to be a national and club legend, but not "great". Not great enough to be mentioned alongside the names of the premier players during his era. A modern day example would be Sergio Ramos. Good enough to be a club and national legend, but definitely not one of the all-time greats. The only difference is Ramos isn't as marketable. :P

You both make total sense and honestly I have seen more than enough similar opinions (reasonable, im not talking about those trolls). It might very well be true.

But, may be its all about perspective (that's my tattoo too :D). Lets me give my reason.

Indeed, Beckham doesnt have the technical abilities like all of those great scorers or dribblers, or ditating the games like some others but we all agree he has something else those didnt/dont have.

If i put all skills together like in Fifa, yes Beckham will be lower and like Ramos, just next to the all time great...

However football is more than just a running, scoring sport (im not trying to lecture anyone), its an entertainment, sometimes an art form (case of Messi or Ronaldinho or Maldini or Ronaldo9). Beckham offered a similar kind of art, he made people wanna see the games, he worked so damn hard for every single minutes, he made the whole stadium cheered and that motivated his whole team. His professionalism, work ethic effects other too. His every pass looked slick and sometimes jaw dropping, made you jump off your chair. He showed up in big games and scored important goals.

He made a lottttt of people enjoy the games, just like Messi does, like CR7 and like a lot of the great did. Isnt that most important in this sport

His celebrity image sometimes backs fired, yes. And thats the most used argument against him (just to sell shirt and underwear). But look, there are a lot of good looking player too, and to live up with outside fame is as hard as maintaining your form. The media can kill you the minute you make a single mistake

I guess the one thing more than anything else that lowers my opinion of Beckham was how he thought that he was already the best. When I read Sir Alex's book, Fergie basically says that Beckham had stopped growing as a player and was impossible to teach because his ego was too big. If you look at Ronaldo, he's always working to be a better version of himself. Messi is the same way. One can argue that their shared quest to be the best player in the world has spurred that on, but to me, that's what separates the great from the legends.

I remember when Beckham first came to MLS to play for LA, he sucked. Literally, he was just awful. After a few months, he started improving, mainly because he realized he actually was in a very physical league and had to work for it, but he also started growing as a player again. He tracked back for everything, something he'd never done before. He became way better mentally, and it showed.

I honestly think if he'd done those things a decade earlier, this wouldn't even be a conversation. But he didn't. He became content with the level he was at, and while he was one of the best in the world, he wasn't one of the best of all time.

Tuan, you referenced his workrate (which was never held in high regard), and his professionalism (questioned on multiple occasions). Just because you make someone enjoy the sport does not make you one of the best players of all time. Personally, I would go as far to argue that Beckham as a player didn't draw people to the game, instead, it was Beckham the celebrity.

Of course, I should say again, I only caught the tail end of his career.

Yep, unfortunately i dont believe in everything sir Alex wrote, or scripted on behalf. U can clearly see the struggles between the 2 and seem unsolvable when David had to train in Arsenal ground to remain fitness. Books need to sell, dont they? I however do believe he was effected by the glamorous of his post spice wife a bit.

I disagree with you saying if he started improving his workrates a decade ago... you did indeed only caught the tail of his career. I followed MU then him since he wore Nr.10. EPL was as physical as it is now, he had lots of success. He didnt make history in 1998 with his teammates because of his celebrity status. He didnt score that freekick to drag England to the Worldcup by celebrity status, and more... he earned the crowd.

I dont thing anybody has ever questioned his professionalsm, especially after what happened with Capelo in Madrid (he was benched after his agent annouced he will join MLS too soon, and Barca was dominating. He was benched just like Valdes in MU, it was torturing for his fans to see his face for more than half a season on TV on the bench, but he made it through and back to the 1st team, Real was champ that year too). His games with Milan and his combination with Kaka was beautiful, he was already old. With PSG, he didnt want a penny, all of his money went to charity he just want to play.

Have you ever seen David once talk bad about sir Alex, or MU after time and time he talked bad about him, ignore him in his selection, sir Alex was like a father to him, or Siemone after the red... if thats not professional and sportmanship then i dont know what are.

Imagine all the bitch fight we might have now.

Said this many times before, but somehow I've always admired him as a person & footballer and admire him still today. In football wise, just that his kicking technique is the best that I've ever seen in the history of football is respectable thing for me.

I can't actually even explain why I think so positive about him.

But anyways, I think I got on the wrong end of the question.

was he ever belong to the greatest?

Greatest ppl, yes. Greatest players? Not the greatest (such as R9, Ronaldinho, Henry, Bergkamp etc) but just below.