Beckham suddenly revealed the latest reason why he left the field when his career was flourishing

David Beckham, whose curling free kicks, rugged good looks and celebrity marriage made him one of the most famous athletes in the world, is retiring from soccer.

Whether striding on the grass, the red carpet or the fashion catwalks, Beckham transcended his sport and became its highest-paid player, with a fortune estimated at $250 million.

The 38-year-old former England captain said Thursday he would quit after his final two games with Paris Saint-Germain, where he won a league title this season.

David Beckham, whose curling free kicks, rugged good looks and celebrity marriage made him one of the most famous athletes in the world, is retiring from soccer.

Whether striding on the grass, the red carpet or the fashion catwalks, Beckham transcended his sport and became its highest-paid player, with a fortune estimated at $250 million.

The 38-year-old former England captain said Thursday he would quit after his final two games with Paris Saint-Germain, where he won a league title this season.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter described the midfielder as “one of the most iconic figures in global football.”

“It’s the end of a chapter of an amazing story,” Blatter wrote on Twitter. “David grew up as a football loving child & achieved his dreams, and unquestionably inspired millions of boys & girls to try & do the same.”

Beckham’s fame went beyond soccer. Guided by his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Adams, the dashing Beckham was known as much for his fashion as his feet, with ever-changing hairstyles, nail polish and sometimes outrageous outfits. In 2002, Salon dubbed him “the biggest metrosexual in Britain.”

Last year, retailer H&M covered almost the entire side of a New York City building with a picture of Beckham in a pair of boxer briefs.

“Sometimes that has overshadowed what I have done on the pitch or what I have achieved on the pitch,” Beckham said in a television interview conducted by former United teammate Gary Neville. “And as much as I say that doesn’t hurt me, of course it does.

“I am a footballer that has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and played 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 was immortalized in the 2002 movie “Bend it Like Beckham,” which told the story of a British teenage girl of south Asian heritage struggling with family pressures and cultural expectations to play the sport she loves. Beckham’s retirement led to a flood of tweets dubbing the day “End it Like Beckham.”