David Beckham’s childhood club has spoken of its pride at being associated with the football icon as he confirms his retirement from the game.

The superstar has announced he will retire from professional football at the end of the season, after helping French side Paris St Germain to its first league win in 19 years.

Beckham is worth an estimated £135 million and is the only player to have won championships in four different countries.

But for the Leytonstone-born boy it all started at his childhood club, Chingford-based Ridgeway Rovers.

The former Manchester United player started at the club in Wadham Road at the age of 10 after moving there from Leytonstone, attending Chase Lane Junior School.

He played there until he was 12 years old, joining Brimsdown Rovers aged 14 prior to being offered a schoolboy contract by United.

Ridgeway Rovers chairman Ian Marshall said the star’s legacy still lives on at the club.

Mr Marshall, 45, said: “We’re very proud that he started here. We’re honoured. His legacy is that we still get kids saying they want to play for us because of Beckham.

“He still inspires kids to want to play so it’s very positive. We’re very grateful for that association and his history is our history.

“David is a typical local lad done good. As a youngster he would come home from school and practice his free kicks over the park for hours, to perfect his unique technique of striking the ball and improving his accuracy.”

The club coaches dozens of kids and boasts more recent graduates like Spurs players Harry Kane and Andros Townsend.

And it is still mentioned and remembered by Beckham, who paid tribute to it recently in his speech to mark the FA’s 150th anniversary.

The former Real Madrid player was offered the freedom of the borough by the council last summer, but no date for a formal ceremony has been arranged.

However, the council has its own unofficial Beckham Trail, picking out highlights such as Walthamstow Stadium, in Chingford Road, where he worked as a glass-collector as a teenager.

Another is the council pitches in Ainslie Wood Road Chingford, where he played football when he visited his grandparents.