Before I get slaughtered and ridiculed by the legions of fans that Beckham has built up in China, erm,  I mean the world, let me first say that I am not going to fully question Beckhams credentials as a player. My reason for writing this article is simply to argue my points on whether Beckham would be as successful a player, and reach the levels he did had he not been as exposed through celebrity staus as he has been.

Firstly, lets look at Beckham's strengths and assets. His main asset is clearly his right foot. Beckham, in my opinion has the best right foot in football and has done throughout his career. In this career he has had challengers to this throne in the forms of Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo to name two, but I would rate Beckham's pure technique on his right foot as being better than that of these two greats. Beckham passing of the ball is top quality. He can spot a runner sixty or seventy yards in front of him and still pick out a pin point pass to the players feet. He crosses the ball like nobody I have ever seen. When at Man United, his crossing ability provided many goals for the likes of Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Beckham's free kicks have probably been the best in the world over the last number of years too.

Now that I have that part out of the way, let me get down to business. I mentioned Zidane and Figo already and I will use them to convey the point I am trying to make. Just because Beckham has a sweeter right foot than either of these players, it does NOT mean that he is as good a player as them. And this is where I have issue, because the Engliish media and some managers have been of the opinion that he was.

Beckham, when at Manchester United was a good right sided midfielder, never spectacular. He had a relatively decent work rate and his range of passing was well suited to the United style. But, when Beckham had the ball at his feet, there was only ever one option, look for the pass. He has never been able to take on a player and beat him for pace. He would rarely get into positions at the back post where he could attack a ball being crossed from the left. Beckham, in my personal opinion has always been a relatively one dimensional player.

This is where my celebrity argument comes to the fore. There have been players as good as and better than Beckham who have remained at mid-table Premier League clubs for their whole careers, and I think the difference between them and Beckham is public persona and exposure. Beckham was able to build up a media profile through his endorsement deals and his marriage to 'Posh Spice' Victoria Beckham. Through this exposure, Beckham became the 'golden boy' of English football. He became the first name on the English team sheet. Through public exposure, Beckhams strengths were highlighted and his ability was overexaggerated. This led to Beckham being considered one of the best players in the world and led to him being appointed captain of Enlgland. Was he the ideal candidate for the captaincy, or the obvious choice? Probably not, but because it was David Beckham, the football celebrity, he was given the armband. I would even go so far as saying that his fame led to increased respect for him in the dressing room at England. After all, players are humans too, and at that time, as Beckham-mania spread throughout the world, they may have even believed the hype themselves.

And when the media presents a player as one of the best in the world, there is only one thing that comes next. Real Madrid come knocking on your door. So Becks headed off to Madrid, many believe that he was bought was primarily to sell merchandise in the far east, but even I wouldn't be that cynical! Beckham was good for Madrid, but the stats didn't speak well about his presence in the team. Beckham won only one league championship at Real and that was in his final season. One must wonder about Beckham playing for Real Madrid. If he had never been in the public eye, would he have earned the move to Real Madrid on the merit of hiss on-field performances? Honestly, I doubt it.

And so a move to the MLS with LA Galaxy beckoned. This was a move that would break all records for the wages of a footballer. Now Beckham definitley wasn't going here on solely footballing ability because there would be no point in the LA Galaxy paying that amount for him if they weren't going to get some return through sales revenue.

It's funny to think about where Beckham might be without the celebrity culture that surrounds his life. Would he have gone the same path as Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville and remained at Manchester United to see out his career? Would he have been sold off by Ferguson at this stage. We'll never know how good a player Beckham would have been without the hype surrounding him. I think that the media coverage of his life has given him a false position as a world-class great player. Beckham was, and still is a good player. I think that the hype that surrounds him means that our expectations of him are too high. This may even lead us to go off on a rant in a way similiar to what I've just done.

In conclusion, Beckham is and has been a very good player. World-class? no. Overrated? yes, but only because the media's rating of him has been far too high. Beckham has made a career on his ability, there is no doubt about that, but his ability alone would not have got him to where he is today without the celebrity life that he has lead.