Across his 21-year professional playing career, former England captain represented some of the biggest teams in European football - and Preston North End!

During spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, Beckham rubbed shoulders with many greats of the game.

After 719 total games at club level, combined with 115 caps for England, Beckham's contact book of former teammates is so star-studded that picking a definitive XI of his ex-colleagues is no easy task.

The team over at Transfermarkt recently posted their take on the best XI Beckham ever played alongside and it's pretty impressive.

You can take a look at the side in full below.

David Beckham's ultimate teammates XI (per Transfermarkt)

GK: Iker Casillas - Real Madrid (147 games alongside Beckham)

DL: Roberto Carlos - Real Madrid (135 games)

DR: Gary Neville - Manchester United/England (379 games)

CB: Thiago Silva - AC Milan (20 games)

CB: Rio Ferdinand - Man Utd/England (97 games)

CM: Paul Scholes - Man Utd/England (343 games)

Paul Scholes at Man Utd 1999

3 Apr 1999: Paul Scholes of Manchester United in action in the Premiership match against Wimbledon, played at Selhurst Park, London, England. \ Mandatory Credit: Stu Forster /Allsport

CAM: Zinedine Zidane - Real Madrid (102 games)

LW: Ronaldinho - AC Milan (20 games)

RW: Luis Figo - Real Madrid (76 games)

CF: Ronaldo Nazario - Real Madrid (104 games)

CF: Ruud van Nistelrooy - Man Utd/Real Madrid (109 games)

Beckham's ultimate teammates XI

Legends absolutely everywhere!

A frighteningly good line-up, but there's plenty of significant names from Beckham's past that can only narrowly have failed to make the cut.

When the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Paolo Maldini, Sergio Ramos, Roy Keane, Andrea Pirlo, Eric Cantona and Zlatan Ibrahimovic can't get a sniff of first-team action, then you know we're talking serious quality.

By widening the net to include those that Beckham shared an England dressing room with, names such as Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard also miss out.

Thiago Silva, who only played 20 times alongside Beckham at AC Milan, is a particularly questionable choice for us, given the other potential options out there.

Maldini and Alessandro Nesta and alternatives from Milan, while Beckham also played with Ramos and Cannavaro at Real. United's 1999 Champions League-winning centre-back Jaap Stam could also have been a contender.

David Beckham in action
23 Mar 2002: David Beckham of Manchester United takes a trademark free-kick during the FA Barclaycard Premiership match between Manchester United and Middlesbrough played at Old Trafford, in Manchester, England. Middlesbrough won the match 1-0. DIGITALIMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

23 Mar 2002: David Beckham of Manchester United takes a trademark free-kick during the FA Barclaycard Premiership match between Manchester United and Middlesbrough played at Old Trafford, in Manchester, England. Middlesbrough won the match 1-0. DIGITALIMAGE. \ Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

It's also a shame not to see Scholes and Keane reunited in the centre of midfield, so dominant were they at the 'Theatre of Dreams' in Beckham's prime.

That said, an attacking five of Ronaldinho, Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy would have been special to watch in full flow - and given nightmares to every defence on the planet, too!