Mark Wahlberg is being sued by David Beckham after football ace claimed he was left £8.5m out of pocket from deal to act as an ambassador for the movie star’s fitness brand

Hollywood actor and fitness guru Mark Wahlberg is being sued by David Beckham after a deal that saw the footballer promote the star’s fitness brand went sour – reportedly leaving Golden Balls more than £8million out of pocket.

Becks, 48, is suing the actor and his business partners after the partnership with F45, in which the midfielder promoted his own series of personalized training, went south in a row because of shares he said he had been promised.

The case has been brewing for several years after Beckham and golf legend Greg Norman filed cases against the F45 in the California courts in October 2022 – before a judge reportedly ruled that they had to file separate lawsuits.

Beckham’s firm, David Beckham Ventures Ltd (DBVL), had previously sought damages of as much as $18.85 million (£15.2 million) from F45, according to documents filed last year.

But according to reports, the new case now seeks damages directly from Wahlberg’s Mark Wahlberg Investment Group and from F45 founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch.

Hollywood actor Wahlberg bought a minority stake in F45 through his investment company in 2019

Beckham’s collaboration with F45 saw him launch a series of themed workouts – featuring glossy photos of him working out with F45 brand fitness equipment

He also promoted F45 on his personal social media accounts – with one post days after the deal was signed (above)

Becks and Wahlberg became friends after the footballer and his family moved to Los Angeles in 2007 when he signed a deal to join Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy.

He then agreed to become the global ambassador for Australian brand F45 in November 2020 – with glossy photos showing him working out with branded equipment at one of the fitness centres.

As part of the deal, he also shared some posts on his Instagram promoting the F45 to his millions of followers. The messages have now been deleted.

As part of the deal, DBVL claims shares in the company would be shared in early 2022, but the shares were not announced until months later, by which time the stock price had fallen from around $12 per share to $3 per share.

Beckham’s lawyers claim this has cost him as much as £8.5 million in potential profits due to the delay in issuing the shares promised in the deal to his company.

The sun reports that Wahlberg and his co-defendants are trying to dismiss the allegations of “fraudulent conduct” as unfounded and without any merit.

F45’s stock price in the US never recovered from its early price of $16.

According to the latest market data, the company’s shares are now worth just 15 cents, and the company has been plagued by franchise closures in several countries including Australia, the US, Britain and Ireland.

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

Representatives for Beckham and Wahlberg have been contacted for comment.