Motorola Inc. plans to continue endorsing David Beckham long after his soccer career ends “because his celebrity transcends sports,” the company’s head of global marketing said.

“From a Motorola point of view, David’s always going to have a high profile,” Jeremy Dale, the mobile-phone maker’s vice president for global marketing, said in an interview at the Soccerex conference in Johannesburg yesterday. “I don’t worry about what he’s going to do.”

Beckham’s three-year agreement with Motorola runs through May 2009. By then, the Los Angeles Galaxy player will be 34, an age when many players are winding down their careers. Dale said talks to renew the sponsorship are likely to begin in the New Year. He declined to disclose terms of the current deal.

Over the past decade, the former England captain’s face has been beamed into homes through endorsements with global brands such as Adidas AG, Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette and PepsiCo Inc. Beckham is the only celebrity sponsored by Motorola, the No. 2 seller in the U.S.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player, married to pop star Victoria Beckham, has helped Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola grow in markets such as Asia and the Middle East where it had been “weak,” Dale said.

A promotional campaign involving Beckham marketing the company’s “Razr” phone in Japan helped Motorola “go from no market share to the top-selling handset in a week,” he said.

Beckham will play for Italy’s AC Milan for two months from January -- a bid to boost his chances of selection for England’s national team while Major League Soccer takes a break. Motorola executives are drawing up plans to exploit Beckham’s first stint in Italy’s top soccer league.

“We are working through the details with our Italian team,” Dale said, without giving details.

Source:Bloomberg