Beckham transfer: Real Madrid's sporting director Jorge Valdano revealed yesterday how desperate David Beckham had been to join the club.

When asked how difficult the negotiations had been he said: "Not difficult at all. We did not take him out of Manchester United; United opened the door for him to leave. All we had to do was embrace him with open arms."

It was also revealed yesterday that Beckham has agreed to sign over 50 per cent of every personal sponsorship contract he signs while with Real. The Spaniards insisted on this when buying Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo, and Valdano called it "the key to the negotiations".

He continued: "We demand 50 per cent of our players' image rights. We consider this issue indispensable because the other players have followed this policy.

"In the case of Beckham it was more complicated because his potential image is very impressive, but the player agreed.

"This agreement marked the player's wish to come to Real Madrid even if losing money. His personal publicity is 111 hours per year and he manages to do this during his holidays."

A further measure of the England captain's determination to join the club was his acceptance of £4.2 million a year in wages, less than he was on at United.

Officials at Old Trafford will not be pleased to hear that Real feel they got Beckham for a good price, especially as the Spanish also think he is the best available player in the world.

Describing Beckham as a "football animal", Valdano said Barcelona's interest in Beckham, and his refusal to go there, meant United were left with little option but to accept the £18 million up front that Real offered.

"Having seen what Barcelona were prepared to pay, I can say David Beckham was a touch cheap," said Valdano.

"Barcelona would have paid more for him, but the decision of the player was fundamental to the argument. Manchester United were very professional in the negotiations, very practical, and helped things happen very quickly."

Although Valdano admitted Beckham would earn less money than he might have, had the deal been otherwise constructed, he insisted the only sacrifice the player would have to make was spending time learning his new language swiftly.

"Communication is fundamental for him," Valdano said. "Learning Spanish is the only sacrifice we will ask him to make here.

"Apart from that he is just going to play football, that is all we want. He is a great midfield player and he can adapt to any position.

"I have the impression that he is not interested in anything other than football. The impression that he cares too much about his showbusiness life is wrong.

"Despite all the media pressure he has the ability to concentrate on just his football.

"But all the players who have come here have that sort of pressure and bring that sort of entourage.

"All of them adapt perfectly well. David will. We will make him a better player - talent always grows when surrounded by other talent."

Two of the talents already at Madrid were missing from training yesterday and the fact that they were Luis Figo and Guti - one of whom is expected to make way for Beckham - did not go unnoticed.

Valdano said Figo had a long-standing engagement, but he conceded that Guti had been unsettled by "the new situation". Neither player would be leaving, he said.

There was a more hospitable welcome from the Brazilian full back Roberto Carlos, famous for his powerful free-kicks, who joked in the sports daily Marca: "I'll let him take some of the free-kicks - but only some."

He added: "You can never have too many good players and I'm sure Beckham will be well received and he'll settle into the squad well."