David Beckham has signed a deal to be a global ambassador for AliExpress, an online retail platform owned by Chinese technology giant Alibaba.
The announcement comes as the Euros football tournament is set to kick off in Germany next month.
AliExpress did not reveal how much it is paying the former England captain. In March, AliExpress agreed to an exclusive e-commerce platform partnership with European football’s governing body UEFA.
Under this deal, Beckham will be the face of AliExpress’ Score More promotion, which will run during the games. “AliExpress is helping fans get even closer to UEFA EURO 2024 this summer, by offering them great prizes as the action takes place on the pitch,” Beckham said.
AliExpress joins other major Chinese firms sponsoring the Euros, including electric vehicle maker BYD and electronics giant Vivo. Since retiring from football over a decade ago, Beckham has been linked to many brands and major sporting events.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Beckham and his wife Victoria, a former Spice Girl and fashion designer, have a combined fortune of £455m ($581.6m). After the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the tournament is set to be the biggest sporting event of the year.
A total of 2.7 million tickets were made available for the competition, which runs from 14 June to 14 July across 10 cities, including Munich and Hamburg. According to UEFA, the 2020 Euros had a total global live television audience of 5.2 billion. The final, in which England lost on penalties, was watched by 328 million people.
