Real Madrid to play friendly in Beijing

Spanish giants Real Madrid are expected to play a friendly in the Chinese capital this year, a top Beijing sports official said here Friday.

"We're now in discussion with Real about this matter," said Sun Kanglin, director of the Beijing Sports Administration, according to the Xinhua news agency.

"So far everything is going on smoothly. Chinese fans will have a good opportunity to watch such stars as Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane play on their home soil."

According to Sun, Real Madrid's appearance fee will be more than one million US dollars.

He added that Beijing planned to host a series of world sports events in the next few years in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games.

"As the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing will gain a lot of experiences through staging these events," said Sun.

"It will help Beijing deliver a best-ever Olympics."