Ronaldo praises Beckham's passes, denies rivalry

Real Madrid striker Ronaldo praised new signing David Beckham's passing skills and denied any rivalry with the England captain on Thursday.

"It's a meaningless comparison," said the Brazilian World Cup winner, who was the Spanish champions' big signing last season.

"Maybe I have won more cups than him or maybe he has a better marketing agent than mine but this is not important for my career. I follow what I want and what I want is to continue to win," he said.

"With regard to Beckham's passes, I've noticed that they are very good and I hope we will understand each other during our matches," he said.

Ronaldo also said Beckham was "kind" and that the players often joked with him but needed fellow Englishman Steve McManaman's help translating.

Midfielder Beckham makes his debut for Real when they play Dragon Team, a select squad of Chinese professionals, on Saturday in the first of four promotional friendlies on their Asian tour.