David Beckham has admitted naming his third son Cruz after best buddy Tom Cruise.

Beckham is said to be so infatuated with his friend that he turns to him over almost very major decision he makes.

And the football hero admits Cruise played an even bigger role when it came to picking the name for his third son.

“I must admit, when [Victoria and I] met Tom, I remember turning around to Victoria and saying, ‘Cruise is a great name, but we could spell it different’,” Beckham said.

“And also, living in Spain, Cruz is spelled the way it is in Spanish. So that’s why we got it.”

Wahl has written a book The Beckham Experiment, which devotes nearly an entire chapter to the ‘bromance’ between Beckham and Cruise, who met in 2003.

David and wife Victoria shared the Mission: Impossible actor’s agents, Creative Artists Agency, and at Cruise’s urging also hired his PR firm, Rogers & Cowan.

And when they moved to L.A. they bought a house just five minutes from Cruise’s home with Katie Holmes in Beverly Hills. They even hosted the Beckhams’ Welcome to L.A. party.

Beckham says he talks to Cruise most days and takes his advice on nearly everything – on whether or not to take the record-breaking paying job with L.A. Galaxy. He also recommended Beckham’s physical therapist and introduced him to another superstar pal, Will Smith.

But Beckham still insists there is one thing he does not follow Cruise in – his belief in Scientology.