Chelsea star Didier Drogba is to be the new face of Pepsi.

The Daily Mail says Drogba, 31, will be the latest in a long line of global stars from the worlds of sport, music and entertainment to represent the soft drinks giant Pepsi.

David Beckham, 34, ended his 10-year association with Pepsi in December last year. Brazilians Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and Drogba's Chelsea team-mate Frank Lampard have also featured in Pepsi television commercials.

For some, Drogba may seem an odd choice to follow in Beckham's footsteps, but Drogba's charity work and role with the United Nations sets him apart from other candidates.

In January 2007 he joined Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Maria Sharapova as a UN Goodwill Ambassador and has since endorsed the organisation's Millennium Development Goals project, aimed at setting targets to try and halve world poverty by 2015.

The striker was the first Ivorian to be crowned African Footballer of the Year in 2006.