Watford captain Troy Deeney has revealed that he wants his family name to be as renowned as that of David Beckham.
The 27-year-old is enjoying his most successful season with the Hornets, who were among the pre-season favourites to be relegated but now find themselves ninth in the Premier League, and has been linked with a £20m move to Arsenal.
Speaking to The Independent, Deeney admitted that he now has ambitious plans to turn himself into a global brand in order to give his family "a better outlook on life".
"I am incredibly motivated. I want to take my brand, which is my family, the Deeney name, and make it the biggest it can be. I'm not scared to say that. I want the Deeney brand to be the David Beckham brand. I don't want to be a model or anything. Look at this [face], it's just not going to happen. I just want my whole family to have a better outlook on life," he said.
"I have bought my mum a new house, a new car. Any issues I can take care of and she's not struggling anymore. That is something football has enabled me to do. I can feel [my family] are taken care of now.
"I want my kids to grow up and have options. I don't want them to go into anything and think 'I have to do this to earn money'. I want to create opportunities and that's why I am setting up a charity at the moment – Troy Deeney Foundation Changing Lives – and that's what it will do. Create opportunities."
Deeney has seven league goals to his credit so far this term.