Beckham made his first appearance in front of United fans since his acrimonious departure from the club almost four years ago as they beat a Europe XI 4-3 in a match which also celebrated 50 years of United in Europe.

The former England captain had been scheduled to play but was ruled out through injury.

Instead, he used the occasion to say, publicly, thank you and farewell to the supporters who cheered his name for almost a decade and to convince them that he and Ferguson had well and truly buried the hatchet.

"Everybody here knows you've got the best manager in the world at this club," said Beckham, who will join Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy when his Real Madrid contract expires in the summer.

"I just want to say that the time I spent at this club was the best time of my football career.

"I've waited four years to actually come back and say thank you to the fans and the people at this club."

Although Ferguson was giving his half-time team-talk when Beckham was addressing the 73,000-plus inside the stadium, he was not surprised the midfielder received such a warm welcome.

"I'd expect he'd get a great reception," said Ferguson, who revealed he had spoken to Beckham before the game.

"Even teams, when their managers have played for our club, always get a fantastic reception, quite rightly too."

Ferguson appeared taken aback when told Beckham had called him the world's best manager.

But the man who once accidentally kicked a boot in the boyhood United fan's face in a fit of anger was only too willing to reciprocate.

"He had great years here. He came as a boy and all his formative years were spent here," Ferguson said.

"It was a great foundation here before he went on to Real Madrid. He was a great player."

It was a night of celebration and camaraderie all round - apart from the merciless booing of the Liverpool contingent - and Ferguson felt the game was a fitting tribute to the occasion.

He said: "It was a fantastic night of players relaxing. It's amazing when you can play without pressure that they can enjoy themselves this much."

Being a celebration game, there were the inevitable pre-match niceties.

Two specially-erected screens replayed famous moments from the club's European history.

Clips were punctuated by interviews with a number of guests, including Sir Matt Busby's son Sandy, Brian Kidd, Alex Stepney, Brian McClair, Denis Irwin and - cradling the 1999 European Cup - Nou Camp hero Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Ferguson had vowed to field his strongest available line-up last night so it was concerning to see first-choice central defensive pairing Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand missing with knocks.

However, both are expected to be fit for the weekend, with Ferguson saying: "Nemanja had a small break in the cartilage in his nose and he went to hospital this morning to get some of the blood drained away, just a little clot. He's fine.

"Rio Ferdinand went for a scan on his ribs but he's okay."

Injured trio Edwin van der Saar, Louis Saha and Solsjkaer are all expected to return after the forthcoming international break.