Ronaldo replaces Beckham again - this time at Armani

Could age finally be catching up with David Beckham? In the week in which he turned out for England looking unusually deshevelled with an unkempt beard it emerged that 'Goldenballs' is being replaced as the face - and body - of Armani underwear.

After three years posing in his undies alongside wife Victoria for the Italian fashion house, he has been replaced with a younger model. And the man tasked with filling his boots needs no introduction.

For the third time in his short career Cristiano Ronaldo will be the man to take over from Becks. After inheriting the number seven shirt at Manchester United and then following in Beckham's footsteps by moving to Real Madrid, Ronaldo will now wear his pants.

The Portuguese winger is already an expert at parading around in a pair of briefs - for the last two summers his penchant for donning miniscule hotpants when poolside has caused a sensation in the tabloid media.

The new face of the women's range - in place of Victoria - is actress Megan Fox, regarded by many as the natural heir to Angelina Jolie as the 'most beautiful woman alive'. Fox has already shot her first campaign for the brand with fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott in Los Angeles, and the results are expected to be released soon.

It is Victoria who reportedly pulled the plug on the Beckhams' relationship with Armani. She is keen to focus on her own collection and apparently did not want to renew her contract. David is also reported to be in talks about developing a Beckham-branded men's underwear line.

It may be too soon to write off Beckham - he has bounced back before. In 2006 he quit iinternational football but was later persuaded to return to the squad, and just this week was named man-of-the-match in England's game against Belarus - dodgy beard notwithstanding.