He famously donned rump-enhancing, fluoro hotpants on holiday, so perhaps posing in barely-there briefs isn’t such a daunting task for the flamboyant footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Real Madrid star, 24, has been revealed as the face of Emporio Armani Underwear, filling the snug pants-sized space vacated by David Beckham, for spring/summer 2010. Beckham has modelled for the designer since 2007.

Ronaldo, who left Manchester United for the Real Madrid, in July, for a record £80million, raised eyebrows – and laughs – when he was snapped on holiday in Los Angeles, last year, in bottom-grazing shorts. (His buffed body did negate this sartorial faux-pas somewhat, even if his tan was a shade too close to David Dickinson mahogany for comfort.) His campaign images are yet to be shot.

And, in a move guaranteed to get men hot under the collar, the Transformers actress, Megan Fox, 23, will replace Victoria Beckham as the face of the women’s range.

The hotshot fashion photographers, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, have already snapped Fox’s soon-to-be released campaign images. Cue the countdown…