David Beckham is "looking forward" to turning 40.

He said: "I'm not worried about turning 40. People keeping turning around and saying, 'You're turning 40 - how do you feel?' And I'm like, 'I feel fine. I'm looking forward to it.' I just don't want a big party because I don't like that kind of attention, but I'll do a quiet dinner with friends."

The retired soccer star, who models underwear for H&M, also laughed off suggestions of a rivalry between him and new Calvin Klein model Justin Bieber, 20, because he is "slightly older."

Asked what he thinks of the younger star's debut ad campaign for the brand, he told E! News: "Not bad, not bad, not bad. He looks good in his underwear ads. He looks very good."

David launched his new single-grain Scotch whisky, Haig Club, in the US this week, but was reluctant to promote alcohol in the past because he "didn't feel it was the right thing to do" as a professional athlete.

He explained: "I can enjoy a drink now during the week without worrying about, 'Oh, I'm playing this weekend or I'm training in the morning.' I kind of enjoy a glass of wine or a glass of whiskey without kind of thinking, 'Oh, I have to get up really early and run around the field tomorrow.'"

But he had to convince his wife Victoria Beckham, 40, who isn't the "biggest drinker in the world," to support his first first foray into the beverage industry by making her a special cocktail.

He said: "She was actually very impressed that I had come up with this cocktail, which I made her believe I actually came up with. She liked it. Now she's a whisky drinker."