Beckham shocked the industry last night when he issued a statement confirming that he would be ‘parting company’ with SFX, the agency that represents him and a string of other big name players.
However, in a twist, he confirmed he would continue to work with Tony Stephens, his long-time personal agent and the man widely acknowledged as being the brains behind ‘Brand Beckham’ – one of the most successful commercial brands in sport.
Beckham also said he will take on no new commercial deals for the time being – a move which could be seen as a wise step back for a man who has constantly been in the headlines since his move from Manchester United in the summer, and who is on the verge of seeing his carefully crafted brand suffer from over exposure.
Said the Beckham statement: “David Beckham has confirmed he has parted company with the SFX Sports Group.
"His contract was due for renewal and he has decided with the European Championships and a busy year in Madrid he will be focusing entirely on football.
"He will not be taking on any new commercial activity in the short term - except as part of his club commitments.
"He will continue to work with his current sponsors and Tony Stephens will continue to look after his after his football affairs.”
However, Jon Holmes, CEO of SFX’s UK sports business said the news had come as a surprise.
“We are very surprised to learn of this statement given that David Beckham remains under contract to SFX for the next two years.
"We are aware and recognise that David wants to cut down on the level of his commercial commitments and we support that view and we are actively helping him to achieve this. His future commercial activities are subject to agreement with Real Madrid but we are delighted that David has confirmed that he wishes to remain a football client of SFX, which continues to employ Tony Stephens."
Tony Stephens' player agency firm, TSA, was taken over by SFX several years ago, bringing with it the likes of Beckham, Michael Owen and Alan Shearer.
Beckham has worked with Stephens since 1994.
