Brazilian Ronaldo, club official promote Real Madrid in China

Beijing, Oct 26 (IANS)   Real Madrid's former Brazil star Ronaldo Luís Nazario de Lima and the football club's director of institutional relations on Thursday attended an event to promote the La Liga side's image in China.

Real Madrid is expected to inaugurate a touristic and training centre in China, where the UEFA Champions League reigning champion has more than 100 million fans, reports Efe. 

"We are happy to be here. China means a lot to us and we played here several times. We felt the love of the fans," director Emilio Butragueño said.

He said that the huge number of fans made los Blancos establish close relations with the Asian country.

Chinese Super League officials attended the event, entitled "Real Madrid-China summit."

Butragueño said Real Madrid was a "global model" in the football world given its 115-year history and the great players who changed it.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid director general Jose Angel Sanchez revealed that the club is set to inaugurate a leisure centre and theme park in 2021 in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai.

Ronaldo highlighted that Real Madrid became a pioneer in approaching the Chinese market with their first tour in the Asian country in 2003.