LONDON (AP) — He loves to shop, looks good in a sarong, and spends almost as much time at the hairdresser’s as he does on the playing field. Occasionally, he wears women’s lingerie.

For millions of English men and women, soccer star David Beckham is the king of cool, a golden-haired national treasure whose famously curling kicks have inspired boys and girls across the world to “Bend it Like Beckham” — as in the current hit film about a Sikh girl in Britain with soccer dreams.

Beckham is reputed to be the world’s best-paid soccer player, earning an estimated $17 million a year in salary and endorsement deals as a midfielder for the professional team Manchester United.

His thumb fracture May 22 dominated British headlines, and speculation he might be thinking of moving to Spain to join Real Madrid’s fabulously expensive squad had Britons in a froth of anxiety until he issued a denial in mid-May.

Oh, he’s also married to a former Spice Girl.

In the United States, many only know Beckham as Mr. Posh Spice, the husband of singer Victoria Adams. But in Britain — and much of the rest of the world — it’s the captain of England’s national team who gets star billing, while Mrs. Beckham picks up the crumbs of media attention.

“It’s always nice to be liked,” Beckham once said. “I think it’s great.”

He’s not fussy about who does the liking. As well as being a mainstream male role model and a pinup for women, the dashingly handsome “Becks” is comfortable with his sex symbol status among Britain’s gay community.

“He’s a big flirt and he loves it,” says his wife. “He walks around the kitchen going: ‘I’m a gay icon. I’m a gay icon.’”

Indeed, there’s little about Beckham that is normally associated with the super-macho world of English soccer and its hooligan undercurrent — other than the ability to score goals and his tattoos, including the names of toddler sons Brooklyn and Romeo on his back.

A devoted husband who prefers time with his wife and children to partying with friends, the 28-year-old Beckham lavishes attention on his appearance, wearing designer outfits, eye-catching jewelry and, on at least one occasion, bright pink nail polish. He has been mocked for donning a sarong, and Posh says he likes to wear her skimpy underclothes.

Beckham — whose mother ran a hair salon — sends scissors snipping across Britain every time he adopts a new hairstyle, such as the modified Mohawk he wore in last year’s World Cup. Currently, his blond locks are in braided cornrows running from his forehead to the back of his skull.

With a fortune estimated recently at some $78 million by The Sunday Times, Beckham hopes to export some of his fame to the United States. Manchester United, which won England’s Premier League this season, has scheduled a four-game tour there this summer, with appearances in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia.