Advertising industry so keen to make this Wayne’s world

WAYNE Rooney may not have the looks of David Beckham or the talent of Pele, but his marketing potential now ranks with the elite.

The teenager already has sponsorship deals with Coca-Cola, Nike, &Pringles, EA Sports and Ford.

Details of Rooney's contracts are a closely guarded secret, but his current deals won't be worth anything like what the 18-year-old Everton striker will attract after the ongoing tournament, marketing experts say.

"He's already overtaken (Liverpool and England star) Michael Owen in the pecking order, but he's still some way behind Beckham," said Nigel Currie, director of British sports marketing specialists GEM group.

While Beckham's endorsements, including Pepsi, Adidas, and Gillette, bring him an estimated €15m a year on top of his €6.4m salary from Real Madrid, Rooney is already heading for double-digit sponsorship earnings.

"He has the potential to reach £10-12 million (€15-18 million) in the next 12 months. But he's got to be managed well, and his agent has to look to find six or seven major clients and not overstretch him," Currie said.

Rooney's agent, Paul Stretford, reportedly took 123 calls from potential sponsors on the day after Rooney scored in England's 3-0 victory over Switzerland last week.

Despite his prodigious talent compared by England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson to those of Brazilian legend Pele Rooney does not have all of the assets that made David Beckham a global sports marketing megastar.

Beckham unquestionably has the edge on looks, leading to his lucrative endorsement of hair-care products, sunglasses and clothing. "Rooney's more in the Gazza mould, the British bulldog. He's got a lot of earnings potential from British companies looking to capitalise on that," Currie said.

Certainly, Rooney's existing commercial partners are happy with their charge's performance.

Liz Lowe of Coca-Cola, which signed Rooney last year as a figurehead for its grass roots youth football programme in Britain, described the Everton striker's performance in the tournament as "fantastic."

"We'd be right behind the partnership regardless of what sort of performance he put in Euro 2004. And hopefully his potential hasn't been fully realised yet," she said.

Rooney endorses Coke's sports drink Powerade as well as the main Coca-Cola brand, and alongside his involvement with youth football there are tremendous positive associations for the company, she said. "It's about capturing the imagination; clearly it's a very exciting and powerful thing. Obviously having Wayne as an icon in our commercials is a boon to us he's set the tournament alight."

Meanwhile, Everton manager David Moyes has criticised England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson for suggesting Rooney should be a target for Europe's top clubs.

"We've been disappointed by one or two comments, especially one that the England manager made when he said 'If I was a club manager I'd pick up the phone and call his agent," the Everton boss said.