Monday, 18th June 2007 at 10:00 pm

The David Beckham Show wraps up

And so the Spanish adventure wraps up. From the controversial departure from Old Trafford, through problems off the field (Rebecca Loos) and on it (dropped by Fabio Capello this season), to the headline-grabbing move to America that looked to have ended his career, Beckham’s time in Madrid has certainly been eventful. Now it’s over - and watched by Tom Cruise and Rafael Nadal, the midfielder has said farewell in startling fashion.

In just a couple of months, Beckham has won back his Madrid place, earned an England recall, played a key role in holding off Barcelona en route to the La Liga title, and prompted Madrid to try and buy the Englishman out of his vast LA Galaxy contract. They failed (and Capello has admitted he was wrong to let Beckham go), but illustrated that Beckham isn’t a spent force just yet. What happens in Hollywood will certainly be colourful, as Brand Beckham heads west; Madrid will be a quieter - and poorer - place as a result.