On the pitch, the FIFA World Cup belongs to Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, and Lionel Messi. Off it, one man has dominated the tournament's commercial landscape with a presence that no active player can match: David Beckham.

The former England captain has fronted advertising campaigns for 11 brands during this World Cup — a list stretching from McDonald's and Major League Soccer to Stella Artois, Home Depot, and Bank of America. If American viewers missed him in a half-time break, they likely saw him courtside at the United States' opening match in Los Angeles, seated next to his friend Tom Cruise.

Earlier that same day, Beckham had become the first professional footballer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — with Cruise once again standing alongside him. The recognition cemented what many in the marketing world had long suspected: Beckham is no longer simply a retired footballer. He is a cultural institution.

Beyond the free-kick

Stacy Jones, founder and CEO of the marketing agency Hollywood Branded, believes Beckham's crossover appeal is almost without parallel. "David speaks to so many different people. I think that's what's unique about him," she said. "He brings in the female demographic because he is so sexy — but he appeals to men. He's an honest, good, authentic, down-to-earth type of individual. So you don't really get affronted by him."

That breadth of appeal was on display at Hermosa Beach, south of Los Angeles, where hundreds of fans gathered at an LA Galaxy-organised event to watch Spain reach the World Cup final. Ask those fans about Beckham and the responses tumble out — his free-kicks, Victoria Beckham, the Spice Girls, that McDonald's advert — before anyone mentions a specific goal or match.

One fan offered a candid assessment: "David Beckham was a really good player for England, but he's doing too many commercials now." Yet even that complaint is a measure of his omnipresence.

Changing American soccer — twice

Beckham's commercial dominance is rooted in a football legacy that transformed sport in the United States. Dan Courtemanche, Major League Soccer's executive vice-president and chief communications officer, put it plainly: "I always tell people he changed the fate of American soccer. Not once, but twice."

When Beckham joined LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007, stadiums across Major League Soccer sold out before he had even kicked a competitive ball. The league needed credibility; Beckham delivered mainstream celebrity instead — something arguably more powerful.

Sixteen years later, Beckham played a pivotal role in persuading Lionel Messi — an Argentina icon — to choose Inter Miami over rival offers from around the world, triggering another surge in MLS's global profile. "Lionel Messi decided to make Major League Soccer his league of choice and Inter Miami his club of choice," Courtemanche said. "Again, it took us to a whole other level."

Tom Braun, LA Galaxy's president and chief operating officer, echoed that assessment. "David's an iconic figure in our sport and our culture. He's built a business around his brand and continues to resonate with people," he said.

A working-class footballer on Hollywood Boulevard

The 51-year-old also sang Wonderwall and Hey Jude as he celebrated Bellingham's two goals against Norway that sent England into the semi-finals — a moment that captured precisely how Beckham straddles football and pop culture without effort.

When he accepted his Walk of Fame star, Beckham said he had never imagined "a working-class English footballer" would receive such an honour. The award celebrated not only the player who helped Manchester United win the Treble in 1999 and was one of Real Madrid's original Galácticos — who also played for AC Milan and Paris St-Germain before retiring in 2013 — but the cultural figure he has since become.

"David Beckham, to America, is the World Cup," Jones said. "He is soccer to us."

He arrived in Los Angeles promising to grow the game. Nearly two decades on, he is still making good on that promise — only now the weapon is not a free-kick. It is a brand.