David Beckham first male on cover of Elle UK magazine

Cover boy Beckham, the king of cling: Elle's first ever solo male cover star sets temperatures soaring in shirtless shoot

Fixing the camera with his trademark brooding stare, David Beckham is no stranger to posing for high-fashion magazines.

And with his myriad of tattoos on display, the ex-England captain becomes Elle magazine’s first solo male cover star.

The 37-year-old sportsman, clad in a simple grey t-shirt, scowls artfully as one hand comes to rest on his carefully coiffured hair.

While in another picture, Beckham shows off his finely-honed body and ‘six pack’ as he strides out of a pool - complete with soaking wet jeans.

The father-of-four, who plays for LA Galaxy, declared last month that he was ‘honoured’ to have the ‘really exciting’ opportunity to be on the cover of July Elle.

Cover star: David Beckham has become the first man to appear solo on the front of Elle UK magazine

Editor-in-chief Lorraine Candy said: ‘David Beckham is a national hero... He is an icon and Elle is known for featuring icons on its cover. This is a first for us on the newsstand and I believe he is loved by men and women alike.

‘Anyway, who doesn’t want to see a picture of one of the world’s most handsome men on the front cover of a magazine? It will be a collector’s issue.’ 

Beckham’s appearance had certainly got the staff at Elle hot under the collar as the front cover was heavily promoted.

The magazine put out a video clip of the sportsman’s cover shoot, with the words ‘Prepare Yourself’ emblazoned over his crotch.

In screenshots taken from the video, Beckham stood shirtless by a pool with a towel stretched behind him and playfully threw punches at the camera.

Beckham is well known for being stylish - but is as equally well known for his sartorial disasters.

What were you thinking? Beckham says he 'can't believe' he wore some of his previous attire

He admitted earlier this year: ‘Me and Victoria wore matching black leather outfits once.

‘They were Versace. But that’s one when I look back and am like, 

‘What were we thinking?’ ‘We laugh about that one. I remember that it’s really good until you do it as a couple.

‘I look back on some stuff and think I can’t believe I actually wore that.

‘I have no regrets, though - I knew at the time it was good.’

Beckham, pictured with daughter Harper, has recently vowed to stay in America for the sake of his family

Describing his signature style, Beckham said earlier this year: ‘British gentleman. At my age, now, my style has gone that way; the way I dress, my hair.

‘I just think it’s a great look for a man. For me, the English gentleman look is a nice suit, nice tie, nice shoes - and I think long johns underneath.’ However, after a series of provocative photo shoots, he admitted: ‘My naked days are over.’ 

The full feature with David Beckham appears in the July issue of ELLE UK, on sale Wednesday 30th May