Makaay worth more than Beckham says Hoeness

Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness claims that new signing Roy Makaay is five times more valuable than Real Madrid's 35-million-euro capture David Beckham.

The Dutch front-man, 28, cost the German champions a club-record 18.75 million euros from Deportivo La Coruna, but Hoeness believes the price-tag represents good value in comparison with other close season transfers.

"I would rather have paid five times as much for Roy (Makaay) than David Beckham," Hoeness said Thursday.

"He scored 29 goals in Spain, the toughest league in the world."

Bayern hope Makaay will be the final piece in the jigsaw and Hoeness is confident the former Vitesse Arnhem man can inspire Munich to glory.

"We want to be successful over the next four years and we believe the chances are greater with Roy," added Hoeness.

La Primera Liga's top-scorer made his debut for Bayern, donning the number 10 shirt, in a 2-0 win over Nuremberg on Tuesday and although the Dutch international did not score, he was happy with his performance.

"I was very happy with my performance because I had not played for three months," said Makaay.

"As a striker there is always pressure. But I am sure that I will score a lot of goals here."

Hoeness claimed Makaay needed time to settle at the Olympic Stadium.

"It is not about whether Makaay scored against Nuremberg but what comes out at the end of the season," insisted the Bayern general manager.

"We do not want to justify the millions after every match."

Makaay is likely to make his Bundesliga debut against VfL Bochum on Saturday with coach Ottmar Hitzfeld admitting: "If he is not injured he will play on Saturday."