Beckham faces fight to take free kicks

Roberto Carlos welcomed David Beckham to Real Madrid on Wednesday but warned the England captain he would face a fight to take the team's free kicks next season.

"I'll let him take some of them -- but only some," the Brazilian joked in sports daily Marca.

"He's scored some beautiful goals from free kicks but he doesn't have to take all of them."

Beckham is famous for his free kicks - one last-minute effort against Greece guaranteed England a place in the 2002 World Cup finals. Roberto Carlos is renowned for one spectacular effort against France in 1997 but his strike rate from free kicks is poor compared with the Englishman.

Beckham is the latest in a long line of the game's most popular and successful players who have moved to Real Madrid after the Spanish club agreed to pay Manchester United up to 35 million euros ($41 million) for his services.

"Our president Florentino Perez has shown he can sign the biggest players," Roberto Carlos said. "Beckham is part of that group and in Real Madrid you can never have too many good players."

"I'm sure he'll be well received and he'll settle into the squad well."