David Beckham sues actor Mark Wahlberg over ‘£8.5m loss’ as friendship ends

David Beckham is suing Hollywood actor and fitness guru Mark Wahlberg after a brand deal turned sour, allegedly leaving Golden Balls £8.5million out of pocket.

Former England footballer Beckham’s company, DB Ventures Ltd, claims it was misled into working with F45.

The 48-year-old sports legend agreed to be the US firm’s global ambassador when he moved to Los Angeles, where he and Wahlberg, 52, became friends.

The case has rumbled on for several years after Beckham and golfing legend Greg Norman filed cases against F45 in Californian courts in October 2022 - before a judge reportedly ruled they had to file separate lawsuits.

The Sun reported he is also suing the Ted star’s firm, Mark Wahlberg Investment Group (MWIG), and gym group F45’s founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch.

He claims he lost more than £8.5million when stocks he was promised were withheld until after share prices plummeted.

Wahlberg and his co-defendants claim the allegations of “fraudulent conduct” are baseless and have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

Beckham and Wahlberg became friends after the ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder and his family relocated to LA in 2007 when he signed a deal to join Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy.

He also shared some posts on his Instagram promoting F45 to his millions of followers as part of the deal. The posts have since been deleted.

Wahlberg became a minority shareholder in F45 in 2019 after buying a stake in the company through his investment group.

Representatives for Beckham and Wahlberg have been contacted by the Standard for comment.