Were David Beckham to knock on your front door today, would you recognize him?

Until recently, the English soccer star would have counted on the answer being no. He was reported in years past to have cruised chic boutiques in New York and Los Angeles in blissful anonymity.

And despite the torrent of world media attention over past months -- as the global icon's sale from England's Manchester United soccer club to Spain's Real Madrid, both European giants, was rumored and then quickly consummated -- his status among U.S. audiences is still in question.

The $41.3 million transfer was made final last week as Beckham and glamour wife Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams were en route to hawk cosmetics and chocolates in Japan. Beckham's departure from Manchester United, the club he has supported all his life and for which he began playing when he was just 16, is somewhat akin, in local terms, to Tom Glavine's move to the New York Mets from the Atlanta Braves.

Commentators abroad have expressed surprise at the relatively small fee that Real Madrid paid, which ranks ninth all-time behind the record $64 million that the Spanish giants shelled out for French midfielder Zinedine Zidane in 2001.

But more important than the dollar (or euro) amount, Beckham's significance is cultural. Beckham, 28, is the soccer star of a million disguises, seemingly adding jewelry, tattoos and cornrows when the situation demands.

His face has become emblematic of England's "new lad" movement, a heightened sensitivity to the feminine side. He has been branded a "s/hero" and is tremendously popular among women and gays.

Pundits in Britain attribute these parts of Beckham's personality, and the astute media management that has contributed to his growing celebrity, to wife Victoria, a former member of the Spice Girls pop group.

Beckham's global stature was highlighted last month by his meeting, along with other England players, with Nelson Mandela in South Africa. The former president sought Beckham's support for South Africa's bid for the 2010 World Cup finals.

The film "Bend It Like Beckham," which has been playing in metro Atlanta theaters since April, has grossed more than $20 million in the United States. Beckham does not have a role in the film, but his spirit prevails. The movie's main character, a teenage London girl and aspiring soccer player, converses with his visage on her bedroom wall, much like her Sikh family looks to the image of Guru Nanak for guidance.

What does it all mean? Rest assured, an academic discipline is at work trying to answer such questions.

"His very blankness is the key to understanding his cultural power," says Ellis Cashmore, professor of culture, media and sport at Staffordshire University in England. Cashmore is the author of "Beckham," a 216-page treatment with chapter titles like "Sex, Masculinity and the Temptation of Gay Men."

Cashmore, for one, does not think that Americans will ever "get" the lure of Beckham. A writer in a Washington Post online forum perhaps provided the best evidence of that: "I know who [Beckham] is but [he] doesn't start my tractor if you know what I mean."

Critical to Beckham's popularity, Cashmore writes, is his studied avoidance of controversy, so that a world audience can project its desires onto his massive celebrity.

"This guy has a status Michael Jordan never approached," Cashmore says. "Whereas Jordan was admired, Beckham is adored globally, accorded godlike status in some parts of the world and loved by people who have no knowledge of nor interest in soccer."

Godlike status? Well, the BBC a few years ago reported on a gold-leaf Beckham statue that had been placed among "minor deities" at a Buddhist temple in Thailand.

Economically, Real Madrid seems to be relying on Beckham's proven lure in Asia and U.S. potential as it battles Manchester United for global supremacy in the commercial stakes. United has been ranked as the world's most valuable sports franchise (estimated worth, $1 billion). The club's brand is stamped on everything from a home mortgage program to bottled ketchup, all available from its megastore in Manchester, branches worldwide and on its Web site.

As in most discussions of Beckham, mention of his talents as a soccer player seems to lag behind his commercial and cultural cachet. He made his debut for the Manchester United first team at 19, once scored a goal from the halfway line (about 60 yards out) and delivered the free kick goal that sent England into the 2002 World Cup finals.

Beckham's introduction to the U.S. public was to have come next month on Manchester United's four-game U.S. tour -- the so-called "Summer of Beckham," with matches scheduled in Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and East Rutherford, N.J.

But now, fans will have to content themselves with other United superstars such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ryan Giggs and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Who?

No, it just won't be the same without Becks.