Beckham lands world record £100M sponsors deal

David Beckham is set to land the biggest sporting contract in history - a massive £100 million from boot sponsors Adidas.

The deal tops those for American sports stars Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods and confirms Real Madrid midfielder Beckham as the most popular athlete on the planet.

"David Beckham is the most popular athlete ever," Thomas van Schalk, Adidas' global football executive told the Sunday Mirror.

"There are a number of athletes that transcend their sport, like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan - but they're not half as big as Beckham."

Beckham will receive a huge down payment of about £50 million and will also get a percentage of profits from the sale of sportswear and lucrative payments for promotional and PR work.

Even after he retires, Beckham will be employed as an ambassador of the brand and represent the company across the world.

Van Schalk added: "At the moment we are discussing David's future role with the company. He has a contract and that is up for discussion. But we expect the next contract will be for the rest of his career and beyond."

"When you see 35,000 people going to watch Beckham in a practice match broadcast all over the world, and he has an eight-page feature in Sports Illustrated, you begin to understand how big he is. Did you know the best viewed news broadcast was the funeral of Princess Diana and the second best was Real Madrid's signing of Beckham?"

"He has changed the world of sport. It's extremely difficult to get your head round how big Beckham is, it's very difficult, it's a challenge for all of us in this company."

"Beckham is a phenomenon. His popularity is extraordinary, the world has never seen anything like it."