MOLI VIEW™

When Manchester United sold its superstar David Beckham to Real Madrid in 2003 for $50 million, critics said the storied Spanish soccer club was buying a mannequin as much as a midfielder. Real had stars aplenty, but none with Beckham's glitz. The telegenic English international's ability to shift soccer shirts around the globe was well established. His pop-star wife and lifestyle had made him a favorite with marketers from Adidas (other-otc: ADDDY.PK - news - people ) to Gillette, though he and the Procter & Gamble (nyse: PG - news - people ) owned razormaker have recently agreed to go their separate ways. Now Real has put some hard numbers on the player's off-the-field impact in his four years at the club. The club sold €440 million ($600 million) worth of shirts and other soccer merchandise during that time, increasing merchandising profits by 137%, Real's marketing director Jose Sanchez told News Corp. (nyse: NWS - news - people )'s Sun newspaper. The club sold one million shirts within the first six months of Beckham's arrival, according to Sanchez.

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