| Beckham Castro | |
| Fullname: | Beckham David Castro Espinosa |
| Birth Date: | 12 September 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia |
| Height: | 1.76 m |
| Position: | Winger |
| Currentclub: | Millonarios |
| Clubnumber: | 11 |
| Youthclubs1: | Chiqui Orozco |
| Youthclubs2: | Academia de Crespo |
| Youthclubs3: | Estudiantil |
| Youthclubs4: | Aston Villa de Cali |
| Youthyears5: | 2020–2023 |
| Youthclubs5: | Millonarios |
| Years1: | 2023– |
| Caps1: | 29 |
| Goals1: | 7 |
| Club-Update: | 16:53, 6 August 2023 (UTC) |
Beckham David Castro Espinosa (born 12 September 2003) is a Colombian footballer who currently plays as a winger for Millonarios.
Castro was born in Cartagena, and is named after former Manchester United, Real Madrid and England international footballer David Beckham, as his father was a fan of Real Madrid.[1] Due to his relatively unusual name, his footballing career was the subject of media attention from a young age, and in 2013 Colombian newspaper Q'hubo ran an article on him, despite him only being ten years old at the time.[2]
Castro began his footballing career at Chiqui Orozco, a local footballing school in Cartagena.[3] He later played for Academia de Crespo and Estudiantil de Medellín, also representing Aston Villa de Cali.[3]
Having trialled with Brazilian and Portuguese clubs Grêmio and Braga, respectively, Castro signed a professional contract with Categoría Primera A side Millonarios in his native Colombia in December 2020.[3] He finished bronze in the 2022 golden boot race at youth level, and the following year he made his debut on 22 March 2023, coming on as a late substitute for Fernando Uribe in a 2–0 league win over Deportivo Pasto.[3]
Following teammate Óscar Cortés' call up to the Colombia under-20 side for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and an injury to attacking midfielder Daniel Cataño, Castro was given a run of games as a starter in the Millonarios side.[4] Having been named in the line-up for Millonarios' Categoría Primera A fixture against Independiente Medellín on 20 May 2023, he latched on to a cross from Leonardo Castro late into the first half to score his first goal for the club in the eventual 2–2 draw.[4] [5] Three days later he made his Copa Sudamericana bow, starting in a 3–1 win over Uruguayan opposition Peñarol, and getting the assist for Jorge Arias' goal.[6] [7] He followed this up with an assist in the following game, a 1–0 win against Boyacá Chicó, before scoring his second goal for the club - the only goal in a 1–0 win against América de Cali on 31 May 2023.[4] [7] [8]
On 3 August 2023, following a short absence from the first team, he returned to action in Millonarios' friendly win over Spanish opposition Real Zaragoza, scoring the first goal in an eventual 2–1 win.[9]