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The Beckham Brand

The former England football captain, David Beckham, will today start a new job - as the richest footballer in history. but most of that money will come from business activities not fotballing performances. This report from Andy Farrant: Listen to the story While Beckham the footballer is worth millions of dollars, Beckham as a commercial brand is worth tens of millions. His basic salary as a player for his new club is a comparatively modest six million dollars a year. The rest is made up from advertising contracts, sponsorship deals and profit sharing. While there's no doubt that Los Angeles Galaxy has bought 32 year old Beckham the footballer to raise its profile and that of Major League Soccer in general, it's also invested in Beckham the brand. His previous club, Real Madrid, can testify to the success of that brand. The Spanish club made six hundred million dollars in marketing and commercial activities in the four years he played there, an increase in profits of one hundred and thirty seven per cent. Already, his new American club has attracted an extra twenty million dollars in sponsorship. But the big question is can the Beckham brand be successfully exported from Europe to America? He's better known in Europe, Africa and Asia than in the United States where football, or soccer as it's called, is a poor relation to basketball, baseball and American football. And a recent survey among Americans reveals that David Beckham is more famous for being married to a member of the Spice Girl pop group than for his footballing exploits. Andy Farrant, BBC Sports News Reporter Listen to the words