Why David Beckham is suing Mark Wahlberg after deal went wrong
David Beckham is suing actor Mark Wahlberg, after he claims a fitness deal left him missing out on millions of pounds.
While Beckham, 48, and Wahlberg, 52, were once friends, it seems their relationship has soured over a brand deal gone wrong.
How did Beckham and Wahlberg get involved?
According to The Sun, Beckham and Wahlberg became friends when Beckham moved to Los Angeles over 15 years ago.
It was during the time he made his move from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy and the pair were living in the same neighbourhood.
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Things took a turn, however, after Beckham became the global ambassador for fitness brand, F45.
The footballer's company, DB Ventures Ltd, has claimed that it was misled into working with the brand.
Wahlberg had become a minority shareholder in F45 in 2019, while in the following year Beckham agreed to work with the company.
He featured in a number of since deleted social media posts promoting F45 in his role as an ambassador for them.
Why is Beckham suing Wahlberg?
The case, which has been ongoing for a few years, focuses around some shares that were promised to Beckham.
The footballer's company is alleging that he was promised shares and that these would have been handed over in early 2022, but there was a delay of several months during which time the value dropped significantly.
At the beginning of 2022, the value of an F45 share was around $11 (£8.89) before climbing to over $15 (£12.13) in February, and then plummeting sharply to under $4 (£3.23) by the middle of the year.
Because of this delay, lawyers have claimed that he lost out on £8.5 million in potential profits.
What has Wahlberg said?
Wahlberg's business the Mark Wahlberg Investment Group is also being sued, as are F45 founders, Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch.
The defendants have said the allegations of 'fraudulent conduct' are baseless and asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit against them.
Their motion to dismiss claims that Beckham's lawsuit 'tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit'.
“The 209-page, 610-paragraph SAC [complaint] tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit," they explained.
Originally, Beckham had paired up with golfer Greg Norman over allegations that they were owed sponsorship payments in cash and stock.
However, a judge told them they would need to sue separately.
The F45 stock did not recover from that plummet in the early months of 2022 and now each share is worth just 15c (12p).
LADbible have contacted David Beckham and Mark Wahlberg's representatives for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, David Beckham, US News, Mark Wahlberg, Money, Sport, Business
Lucy Devine