Beckham in £20m deal to advertise posh underwear

DAVID Beckham is to swap his football strip for Giorgio Armani underwear in a £20 million advertising deal to become the designer's ambassador.

The three-year contract gives the Los Angeles Galaxy and England player an annual fee plus royalties and is unprecedented for any sportsman.

It cements his status as the world's best paid footballer even though his off-pitch endorsement earnings have fallen over the past two years.

Beckham, 32, who left Real Madrid in July to join the American soccer side in a £125 million, five-year deal will head Armani's expansion plans for his Emporio brand.

He will front the underwear campaign in a series of billboard and fashion magazine adverts from the beginning of next year.

He was busy shooting the advertising campaign last Friday in Los Angeles with Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, a duo known for their glossy airbrushed style and who made their name photographing models and celebrities including Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez and Natalie Portman.

It is the second time Beckham and Armani have worked together. In 2002, the Italian designer created uniforms for the England team's wardrobe.

The deal is Beckham's first formal clothing contract and part of an overall strategy by his management company, 19 Entertainment, to maximise his earnings during the final few years of his playing career.

The campaign for the "Emporio SS08" underwear range is thought to have been sanctioned by Giorgio Armani himself.

The 73-year-old Italian designer has become friends with Beckham and his wife, Victoria, dining with them several times since their move to California.

A source close to the deal said: "The personal relationship was definitely instrumental in this deal.

"David and Giorgio get on very well so it was very much Giorgio's personal choice. But Armani also see this as a sound business decision - few individuals have a truly global reach that can match David's."

The Armani move came about after the former England captain's contracts with Vodafone and Gillette came to an end this year.

Beckham still has deals running with Adidas, Pepsi, Motorola and perfume maker Coty - which produces fragrances named after him and Victoria - and earns £500,000 a week from his playing contract.

However, the Armani deal marks a rejuvenation in Beckham's off-pitch earnings which have been on the wane recently.

According to accounts filed at Companies House, Beckham's earnings from endorsements fell last year for the second year running, by 28 per cent to £11.1 million, leaving his management company looking for new endorsements. They were keen to prove that Beckham's marketing clout was as strong as ever in spite of a string of injuries.

Beckham's underwear deal comes after his wife linked up with US lingerie chain Victoria's Secret as part of the Spice Girls comeback.

A spokeswoman for Armani said: "I can confirm David Beckham will be appearing in the Emporio Armani SS08 underwear campaign."

PLAYING THE NUMBERS GAME

£125m

The reward Beckham secured when he signed a five-year deal with LA Galaxy when he moved to the United States to finish his footballing career on a money-spinning high.

£500,000

Beckham's weekly wages at the Los Angeles club.

$70

The price of a football shirt with Beckham's name and number 23 on it. Thousands have been sold to Galaxy fans.

£11.1m

Beckham's estimated annual off-field earnings.

£3m

The sum Beckham recently turned down for a new deal with Gillette.

Beckham was the face that launched the group's Fusion and M3Power razors.

£14.99

The price of a bottle of Intimately Beckham, the fragrance from French perfume house Coty.

It claims to let the wearer "share the ambition and success projected by this confident and magnetic character".

£300m

What Beckham was worth per year in marketing revenues to his previous club, Real Madrid.

£100m

Beckham is the first footballer to have earned more than this total fortune from the game.

£87m

Beckham's earnings in 2006.

34th

Beckham's position in the 2007 Football Rich List with his £87m fortune. When the list was first published in 2004 only nine players were in the top 100.

Now there are 21, but it is still mainly businessmen, with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich at the top.