What do David Beckham’s tattoos mean?
IT'S common knowledge that David Beckham is a BIG lover of tattoos.
The footballing legend is covered from head to toe in body art, and sports an impressive ink collection.
What do David Beckham’s tattoos mean?
Hands
Starting with the hands, and David Beckham has the word "Love" inked across the top of his left hand, with a swallow on either side.
This is joined by the numbers 723, a combination of the shirts he famously wore for Manchester United and later Real Madrid.
On his little finger, he has the year he was married.
Becks also has a small female-stick figure designed by his daughter Harper.
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The devoted husband has "Posh” tattooed on a finger as a nod to wife Victoria Beckham's Spice Girls nickname.
Arms
Becks has two sleeve tattoos on both his arms with the centrepieces paying tribute to his marriage to Victoria.
The most famous of his body art comes in the shape of her name along the inside of his forearm, which is inked in Sanskrit.
Both Posh and Becks have Hebrew tattoos, which they got to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary.
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The matching tatts translate to, "I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine".
Meanwhile, Becks also has a separate rose inking on his left arm to mark the couple's tenth anniversary.
Neck
One of Beckham's most famous tattoos is on his neck, which is a gothic style cross and wings.
It is symbolic of to his religion and acts as a protective guardian of his son Romeo, whose name is tattooed just below the angel wings.
Beckham also has the name of his daughter, Harper, on the side of his neck.
This was later updated to include the words "Pretty Lady", to mark her fourth birthday.
Back
Beckham's back tattoos serve as tribute to his sons.
He has angel wings at the top as a sign of protection for them.
Becks has both his eldest on Brooklyn, and his youngest son Cruz's names inked across his back.
body tattoos
Beckham has a large chest tattoo that is an image of himself as Jesus, with three cherubs representing his sons, Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz.
The footy ace also has a vertical tattoo down his left side in Chinese symbols - this translates as “Death and life have determined appointments".
Paying homage to his father, he has an inking of a ship at full mast - which is identical to the same one his dad has.
How many tattoos had David Beckham got?
He has so many tattoos at this point, that even Beckham himself has probably lost count.
However, it is estimated that the footy legend has 64 inks all over his body.
Speaking previously about his beloved tattoos, he said in a Biotherm Homme advert in 2016: "The story of my life is written on my skin. Don’t expect to read it on my face."
David also told People magazine that he often gets asked, ‘When you’re 60, how is it gonna look?’
In response, David said: "I’m not even worried about it."
David's sons have followed in his footsteps and also have impressive body art, with Brooklyn being the most covered.
His eldest started getting inked as soon as he turned 18.
When did David Beckham get his first tattoo?
David kicked off his body art collection when he became a dad in 1999.
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To commemorate Brooklyn's birth, the then Manchester United star had his son's name written in gothic script across his lower back.
Becks followed this up with a guardian angel a bit further up.