The Best David Beckham Cards (Rookie Cards And More)

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David Beckham is without doubt one of the most famous names to come out of soccer, and he has some of the most sought-after cards in the hobby.

For me, the best David Beckham soccer card is his 1996 Merlin Gold (#92) rookie card, which is also his most expensive base card.

He has some other great cards as well, including some autographed options – I’ve covered all the top options further down.

Table of Contents

Quick Summary: Best Picks

The Best And Most Valuable David Beckham Cards

1995 LCD Publishing Premier Strikers David Beckham #62

1995 LCD Publishing Premier Strikers David Beckham #62

Although this card isn’t recognized as the David Backham card to have by many collectors, it is his true rookie.

It was released in 1995 as part of LCD Publishing’s Premier Strikers set, which included 108 different base cards of midfielders and forwards from the 1995-96 Premier League season.

The card shows David Beckham in action for Manchester United.

For any David Beckham fan who’s in the soccer card hobby, it’s definitely one to add to the collection if you can get hold of it – although it is already valued quite highly; It sold for as much as $3.26k before.

Any Autographed David Beckham Cards

David Beckham autograph cards are easily among his most valuable soccer cards.

Although there are numerous different options, they’re usually rare and not easy to get hold of, which is why I’m choosing not to list a specific autographed card.

The earliest (pictured above) came in 1997 Futera Manchester United, as a redemption – The hard-signed card is a beauty, and they are serial-numbered on the back to 250 copies, although it’s believed most were not redeemed.

Upper Deck released some key signed Beckham cards in 2002 and 2003, with several limited and numbered options.

Panini started releasing Beckham autos across various products starting in 2020, which are generally very limited and valuable.

For me, the best Beckham autograph card is his 2020-21 Panini Prizm EPL Club Legends Signatures card, which has numerous parallel options.

The 1-of-1 Black Prizm version sold for $14.5k in 2022 (graded BGS 9), which makes it one of his most expensive soccer cards ever.

1995 Subbuteo Squads David Beckham #NNO

1995 Subbuteo Squads David Beckham #NNO

This card was released the same year as the LCD true rookie card, but I believe it was issued after.

Subbuteo are not most known for sports cards, they’re the manufacturers of a once very popular, particularly in Europe, table-top soccer game.

However, Subbuteo did release some soccer cards, and David Beckham had this one for the 1995-96 season, which interestingly is 3 years after he played his first senior game for Manchester United, although it wasn’t until 1996 that he became an established senior player.

The card itself looks quite retro – It shows a young Beckham in action for Manchester United.

It’s not an easy card to get hold of these days, most will be with collectors or Subbuteo enthusiasts in the UK.

The value of anything Subbuteo has risen a lot in recent years, because it’s become very collectable, and that’s also true for this David Beckham card.

1996 Merlin Gold David Beckham #92

1996 Merlin Gold David Beckham #92

A good deal of soccer card collectors view this as the David Beckham rookie card to have – In my opinion, it’s his best soccer card, and it’s the most expensive base card of his, and his most expensive rookie.

Although it was issued after the Subbuteo and LCD Beckham cards, it’s arguably his most popular card. It’s another which is rare and hard to get hold of.

The design is minimalistic, but cleaner and, in my opinion, better looking than the Subbuteo card and fairly similar to the true rookie. 

Back in 2021, a PSA 10 graded copy sold for $15k.

1996 Merlin Sky Sports David Beckham #20

1996 Merlin Sky Sports David Beckham #20

Although it’s not quite as valuable as the Merlin Gold card from the same year, this 1996 Merlin Sky Sports David Beckham card is another popular and valuable option.

The design offers collectors something unique, with the landscape card featuring a simple image of Becks celebrating on a silver foil background.

The foil background gives it condition issues, because it’s so prone to damage, so the highest graded versions of this card sell for a big premium.

1996 Merlin’s Premier League Stickers David Beckham #40

1996 Merlin’s Premier League Stickers David Beckham #40

David Beckham’s first issued sticker came as part of the Merlin 1996 Premier League set.

Most collectors at the time would stick the stickers into the set album, which means it’s very hard to find this one ‘unstuck’ and still in good condition.

The standalone sticker definitely holds value for the reason it is so rare, but also because it’s the first Beckham sticker.

The design itself is quite basic, which is normal for soccer stickers – It shows a very young looking Beckham with a Manchester United jersey on.

2000 Raven Manchester United Red Devils David Beckham #10

2000 Raven Manchester United Red Devils David Beckham

There’s been some confusion around when this card was first released in the past, mainly due to PSA listing it incorrectly for some time as a 1995 Beckham rookie card – That’s since been changed. The card is believed to have been first issued in 2000.

Some information on this card suggests there was a very limited print run of just 500, however I believe that is also false information.

If you look at the PSA population report numbers, it appears to back up the suggestion that there was in fact a lot more than 500 printed.

This card has sold for some significant amounts in the past, however I would question whether that’s due largely to the misinformation about its year of release and rarity.

2002 Upper Deck Manchester United Match Worn Shirt David Beckham #DB2

2002 Upper Deck Manchester United Match Worn Shirt David Beckham #DB2

Some of the earliest David Beckham relic cards came from Upper Deck in 2002, and this classy-looking gold themed card was one of them.

The match-worn jersey material swatch goes well with the design of the card and is an appealing feature. The rare card is also serial-numbered to 99 copies, so it’s not easy to come by.

2007 Upper MLS Deck David Beckham #63

2007 Upper MLS Deck David Beckham

Becks moved to MLS side LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007, which at the time was the biggest transfer the MLS had ever seen.

This card is the most popular card from his time at LA Galaxy, but it’s not expensive to buy.

It shows an older looking David Beckham in action for LA Galaxy.

2011 SP Game Used Authentic Fabrics Dual David Beckham, Landon Donovan #LAG

2011 SP Game Used Authentic Fabrics Dual David Beckham, Landon Donovan #LAG

Becks has multiple relic card releases over the years, but this is one of the best, because it features him alongside fellow MLS star and teammate at the time, Landon Donovan.

This 2011 SP Game Used memorabilia card features 2 jersey material swatches, and is numbered to 99 copies – Both desirable attributes, making it a popular and valuable card.

There’s also a Premium Series version, numbered to 25 copies.

When Was David Beckham’s Rookie Year?

Beckham played his first senior game for Manchester United in 1992, at the age of 17. 

What Is David Beckham's True Rookie Card?

David Beckham’s first release and true rookie card is the 1995 LCD Publishing Premier Strikers (#62) card.

What Is The Most Popular David Beckham Card?

The most popular David Beckham card is the 1996 Merlin Gold (#92) card – It’s considered by many Beckham collectors as the grail of his soccer cards.

Is David Beckham’s Rookie Card A Good Investment

There’s no doubt that Beckham is one of soccer’s greats, and he’ll always be an incredibly famous name – but I do think the upside potential from current valuations is limited. 

There will always be a level of demand for Beckham rookies, he is a must-have for many soccer card collectors, and his rookies are already rare, so values should keep rising in years to come.

However, I think from a soccer card investing point of view, there are better options, with higher potential for growth.

David Beckham: A Background

Although he was a top player, who achieved a lot in his career, David Beckham’s fame surpasses just the soccer world.

He embraced the celebrity side of being a star at one of the biggest sports teams in the world, Manchester United, and that has led him to become not only a British cultural icon, but also a global superstar.

‘Becks’ is known in soccer for his incredible passing, crossing and free-kick taking ability – He was one of the world’s best wide midfielders of his generation.  

He started his soccer career at Manchester United, and was part of their famous ‘Class of 92’ – a group of 6 talented young academy graduates and friends, including the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, who all went on to become top players.

After winning 11 trophies for Manchester United, including 6 Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions league title, he left for another one of the most famous soccer teams in the world, Real Madrid, in 2003.

He went on to also play for LA Galaxy in the US, AC Milan in Italy and PSG in France where he won further league titles and cups – Making him the first English player to win league titles in four countries.

His 115 senior appearances for the England national team was a record for an outfield player up until 2016 – David was captain for 58 of those games.

Beckham arguably peaked quite young in soccer terms, finishing runner-up in the Ballon D’or (world player of the year award) in 1999 at the age of 24, after playing a key role in Manchester United winning the Premier league, Champions league and FA cup – but there’s no doubt he had a long and highly successful career.

David Beckham has gone on to create and launch his own MLS team (currently president and co-owner), Inter Miami, which debuted in the MLS in 2020 – He is also a co-owner of UK based lower league team, Salford City.

Tom Flint

Tom Flint

A long-time collector of sports cards, Tom mainly collects soccer World Cup Prizm cards these days. As a kid, he enjoyed collecting baseball cards. He's a huge sports fan, with lots experience and passion for sports card collecting.
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