Real Madrid and its new megastar David Beckham arrived in Hong Kong Wednesday and were greeted by about 2,000 boisterous fans.

Camera flashes lit up the arrivals hall as the soccer stars emerged, waving to the crowd before leaving the airport for their hotel.

One teenager carried a sign saying "David, u're the best."

The Spanish club's all-star lineup arrived from Tokyo on the third leg of its 17-day preseason Asian tour and planned a training session later Wednesday at Hong Kong stadium.

In addition to Beckham, the Real squad boasts Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Raul Gonzalez and Roberto Carlos.

Organizers said it cost about 37 million Hong Kong dollars (US$4.7 million) to bring Real Madrid to Hong Kong for Friday's exhibition match against a joint China-Hong Kong team.

The Hong Kong government is one of the major organizers as part of its campaign to restore the territory's image as a tourist destination following the recent SARS outbreak.

Hong Kong fans had to dig deep for match tickets, with prices ranging from HK$500 (US$64) to HK$1,500 (US$192). Although there were some special tickets for students and the elderly at HK$150 (US$19).

A ticket to a regular local soccer match costs less than HK$100 (US$12).

Despite the high prices, the match was a sellout within hours, with hundreds of fans camped outside Hong Kong stadium for three days last week in sweltering heat to get a seat.

"I was lucky to get a ticket. Hong Kong people have been dreaming for years to see Real Madrid play in Hong Kong,'' said 18-year-old student Sam Wong.

Real Madrid had earlier trained in the southern Chinese city of Kumming and beat an all-star Chinese team 4-0 in Beijing last week.

In Japan, Beckham scored his first goal for Real Madrid in a 3-0 victory over FC Tokyo on Tuesday.

Real Madrid signed the England captain for US$40 million in June on a transfer from Premier League powerhouse Manchester United.

From Hong Kong, the team will travel to Thailand, where it will play a friendly against the national team to commemorate Queen Sirikit's birthday.

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