LONDON (AP) — End it like Beckham.

David Beckham, whose curling free kicks, rugged good looks and celebrity marriage made him one of the most famous athletes in the world, is retiring from soccer.

Whether striding on the grass, the red carpet or the fashion catwalks, Beckham transcended his sport and became its highest-paid player, with a fortune estimated at $250 million.

The 38-year-old former England captain said Thursday he would quit after his final two games with Paris Saint-Germain, where he won a league title this season.

“It’s a good way to go out,” he said in Paris. “It’s every athlete’s dream, every footballer’s dream to go out on the top — on top form or winning a trophy … leaving as a champion.”

Although he never lifted the World Cup, soccer’s ultimate prize, Beckham won enough club honors in his 21-year career to cement his status in the game and went out a winner on both sides of the Atlantic. He also helped popularize the sport in the United States, playing with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter described the midfielder as “one of the most iconic figures in global football.”

“It’s the end of a chapter of an amazing story,” Blatter wrote on Twitter. “David grew up as a football loving child & achieved his dreams, and unquestionably inspired millions of boys & girls to try & do the same.”

Beckham’s fame went beyond the game. Guided by his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Adams, the dashing Beckham was known as much for his fashion as his feet, with ever-changing hairstyles, nail polish and sometimes outrageous outfits. In 2002, Salon dubbed him “the biggest metrosexual in Britain.”

Last year, retailer H&M covered almost the entire side of a New York City building with a picture of Beckham in a pair of boxer briefs.