Football legend David Beckham is celebrating the 12^th anniversary of his transfer from England's Manchester United FC to Spain's Real Madrid CF. He took to Instagram on Wednesday, July 1, to look back at the momentous occasion in his professional football career.

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"This day 12 years ago I moved from the mighty Manchester United to the mighty of Real Madrid .. Huge honor to have played with 2 of the biggest clubs in the world .. great memories @realmadrid @manchesterunited," said Beckham. He posted a photo of his presentation which took place amid much fanfare in front numerous media outlets from around the world.

The transfer deal was finalized for €35 million and he was handed his white jersey by club legend Alfredo di Stefano on July 2, 2003. Although he made his name wearing the number 7 in Manchester United and with the English National Football Team, he couldn't retain his number with his new team because club captain Raul Gonzalez Blanco was already carrying it. Beckham was forced to choose a different number and ended up with the number 23 as a homage to basketball great Michael Jordan.

Beckham is one of the key members of the "Galacticos" era started by Real Madrid Club President Florentino Perez.  Apart from Raul, he played alongside the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, and FIFA World Cup winning captains Iker Casillas (Spain 2010) and Fabio Cannavaro (Italy 2006).

Despite being phenomenal on paper, the "Galacticos" only won their first Spanish La Liga title together in 2007, Beckham's final year with the club. It was Real Madrid's 30th league title overall. He also commemorated the occasion with another throwback post two weeks ago. He shared a photo of himself as he knelt on the pitch looking up to the heavens in the moment when the title was secured. He held the club's flag in his hand while his teammates stormed the pitch to celebrate.

"This day 8 years ago I won the La Liga title in a city and a team That I fell in love with ... Thank you for the memories," he said. Meanwhile, Real Madrid's official Instagram page also took note of the anniversary of Beckham's signing.  They posted a photo of the player taken from one of his matches with the club and captioned it: "12 years ago we signed Sir@DavidBeckham,"

Since leaving Real Madrid in 2007, Beckham has made waves in the United States with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He also did short stints with Italy's AC Milan and French side Paris Saint-Germain. He officially hung up his professional boots in 2013 but remains to be one of the most recognizable figures in the world of football and as an international celebrity both in sports and in fashion among other things. 

Tagsdavid beckham, Football, real madrid, Transfer, anniversary, Instagram, La Liga, Galacticos