Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was upstaged by LA Galaxy star David Beckham in South Africa yesterday.

The Daily Mail says Abramovich made a day-return trip from Moscow to Johannesburg yesterday to promote Russia's World Cup bid but found himself upstaged by Beckham.

Abramovich's unexpected appearance in the bidding countries' exhibition, having flown in with deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov, should have been a major coup for Russia, as football's richest proprietor was backing his country's bid in person for the first time.

But Abramovich made the most low-key entrance into the expo fully two hours before the FIFA Congress finished, which meant he was hanging around until the important FIFA executive committee members came in.