David Beckham is suing Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg after a brand deal went sour.
The fitness brand deal allegedly left Beckham £8.5 million (NZD $17.8 million) out of pocket.
The football icon's firm, DB Ventures Ltd, claims Wahlberg "duped" him into working with F45, according to The Sun.
It comes after Beckham agreed to be the global ambassador for Australian gym group F45 in 2020, when he moved to Los Angeles with his family.
The partnership saw him promote his own range of personalised workouts.
This also included regular posts to his Instagram promoting F45 to his millions of followers as part of the deal.
However, those posts have since been deleted.
Following the failed brand deal, Beckham is also suing the actor's firm, Mark Wahlberg Investment Group (MWIG), and F45's founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch.
Beckham, 48, claims he lost more than NZ$17 million when stocks he was promised were withheld until after share prices plummeted.
However, Wahlberg, 52, and his co-defendants claim the allegations of "fraudulent conduct" are baseless and lacking in merit.
They have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, The Sun reports.
