David Beckham suing Mark Wahlberg for $10 million over F45 Training deal

Sports entertainment

By Christian Arnold

David Beckham is suing Mark Wahlberg for alleged losses after a brand deal with F45 Training, in which the Hollywood star has a 36 percent stake and is the brand director.

The soccer star’s company DB Ventures claims Beckham was “duped” by Wahlberg, according to The Sun.

Beckham claims he lost $10 million out of his own pocket when the shares promised to the legendary footballer were only returned to him after the price fell.

It is also suing Wahlberg’s investment company – Mark Wahlberg Investment Group – as well as F45 founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch, who launched the company in 2012 in Australia.

The 48-year-old English football star has agreed to be a global ambassador for F45 – a chain of fitness centers in 60 countries, including the United States, which “offers innovative, high-intensity, fast-paced functional group workouts , fun and getting results. -driven” – when he moved to Los Angeles.

Beckham had appeared in several F45 social media posts promoting the brand, but those posts have since been deleted.

Wahlberg and his co-defendants are asking a judge to dismiss the case and declare the allegations of “fraudulent conduct” to be without merit.

In their motion to dismiss, they claimed that Beckham was placing the blame on everyone but himself.

“SAC’s 209-page, 610-paragraph complaint attempts to make up in length what it lacks in merit,” part of the motion reads, according to The Sun.

Beckham and Wahlberg reportedly became friends after the former Manchester United and Los Angeles Galaxy star moved to the same Los Angeles neighborhood in 2007.

Wahlberg purchased a minority stake in F45 through his investment company alongside FOD Capital in 2019.

Beckham had first tried to sue alongside LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, who had his own problem with the F45, in 2022 in a California court, but a judge ruled they had to sue separated.

F45 announced the partnership with Beckham in 2021 and Beckham said in a statement at the time that it was Wahlberg who brought him on board.

“I have been a fan of the F45 franchise and the drive model since my friend Mark Wahlberg introduced it,” Beckham said.