He may have retired from football years ago, but David Beckham has raked in at least £11million this year… here’s how he did it
The famous ex-England captain now earns as much as the Premier League's highest paid footballers
DAVID Beckham has raked in at least £11.1 million this year plugging products across the globe, new figures revealed yesterday.
The 41-year-old soccer icon is living up to his “Goldenballs” nickname three years after hanging up his boots thanks to money-spinning endorsements.
His good looks, style and squeaky clean image have boosted sales of fashion goods, whisky, underwear, soft drinks, fragrances and sports gear around the world.
And his company Footwork Productions - where he is the sole shareholder - yesterday reported a turnover of £14.3 million during 2015.
With minimal outlays, the firm boasted pre-tax profits of £11,464,101 - which works out at £955,341-a-month or £220,000-a- week.
The huge sums put Becks on a par with England’s highest paid Premier League long after the former England captain quit his playing career with Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris St-Germain.
After paying £2.3 million in taxes, his company reported profits of £9,142,639 according to company records released yesterday.
Footwork then paid Beckham a dividend of £8.72 million, an increase from £6.5 million in 2014.
The report, which was filed to Companies House added Beckham has paid himself dividends of a further £11.1 million this year.
Lucrative deals with firms including Haig Club whisky, H&M and Adidas helped Beckham become one of the world’s highest-earning retired athletes.
Footwork’s accounts do not include Beckham’s shareholdings in a other firms which have boosted his massive earnings still further.
Forbes Magazine estimated he earned £50 million last year while The Sunday Times Rich List says the star and his fashion tycoon wife Victoria are worth £280 million.
Overall turnover at Footwork was up by almost £300,000 but post-tax profits dropped by £670,000.
The company has £7.2 million in assets, a figure described as “strong” by directors.
He has now taken dividends totalling £33 million over the past four years - cementing his position as one of the celebrity and sporting world’s most bankable faces.
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Industry experts today said very few male celebs can challenge Beckham when it comes to commercial potential.
Robert Haigh, a director at Brand Finance, said: “Beckham has entered an elite cadre of sportsmen whose success is now totally independent of continued sporting ability.
“Some sportsmen are extremely marketable up to the point of retirement from competition and will have some success after that, however the value of their brands will rapidly erode.
“Not so with Beckham. He is now an aspirational lifestyle figure and perceived as a model man (in both senses of the word).
“He has glamorous children, an independently successful wife and continues to be a style icon for many.
“His brand power extends well beyond the audience for football to markets where that sport’s success is nascent such as China and the US.”