Ronaldo, who has this summer spelt out his "dream" of playing for the Spanish giants, has agreed with Sepp Blatter's claim that there is "modern slavery" in the transfer market.

"I agree with the comments of the president of FIFA. What he said is right," the 23-year-old winger told Portuguese channel TVI.

Beckham, who swapped the north west for the Spanish capital in 2003, believes United are every inch the equals of Real.

"When I left Manchester United the only other club I wanted to play for was Real Madrid," the England midfielder told Sky Sports News.

"Living in Madrid and playing for Madrid - there's not many better clubs than that apart from Manchester United, which is equal.

"But to have those two choices is good for him."

Beckham added in The Sun: "Playing for Manchester United was my dream but so was playing for Real. It was an incredibly difficult choice to make and I'm sure it is the same for Cristiano."

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Meanwhile, Beckham has claimed he is not surprised Madrid are reportedly willing to offer in the region of £80million to land Ronaldo.

He told Gazzetta dello Sport: "There is so much money surrounding football that it no longer surprises me.

"Evidently, there are some teams that have that kind of money to invest.

"Places like Old Trafford or the Bernabeu Stadium are unique in the world."

The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder also hailed Ronaldo's impact last season, saying: "I would give the Golden Ball (world player of the year) award to Cristiano Ronaldo. He has been incredible this year."