David Beckham is suing Mark Wahlberg over a deal that he claims cost him $10.5 million in profit

David Beckham is suing the creators of the F45 gym and actor Mark Wahlberg, alleging deceptive behavior about a fitness brand contract that cost him $10.5 million [£8.5 million].

In the beginning, Beckham and golfing icon Greg Norman filed separate lawsuits against F45, but a judge ordered them to do so.

The former soccer player’s business, David Beckham Ventures Ltd [DBVL], claims that Mark Wahlberg Investment Group [MWIG], Beckham’s company, and the creators of the F45 gym group, Rob Deutsch and Adam Gilchrist, “duped” Beckham into signing on as a global ambassador for the F45 in 2020.

The Sun reports that DB Ventures Ltd asserts that early in 2022, as part of an agreement, shares in F45 were promised to Beckham’s company. But when the promised stocks were delivered only after their value had fallen from about $12 to $3 per share, Beckham lost a significant amount of money. According to his legal team, he lost out on up to $10.5 million (£8.5 million) in potential earnings because of this delay.

Wahlberg and the other defendants respond by disputing the accusations of “fraudulent conduct” and asking for the action to be dismissed. They claim that DB Ventures Ltd. is evading accountability by stating that “The 209-page, 610-paragraph SAC [complaint] tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit.”

According to the DailyMail, Beckham’s company has before asked F45 for damages up to $18.85 million [£15.2 million]. However, the inventors of F45, Rob Deutsch and Adam Gilchrist, as well as Mark Wahlberg’s Mark Wahlberg Investment Group, are personally sued for damages in the current complaint.