David Beckham has urged Cristiano Ronaldo to return to Manchester United should the winger leave Real Madrid, with the former midfielder admitting he would have “crawled back” if given the opportunity after departing the club in 2003.

Ronaldo joined United that summer and spent six successful years at Old Trafford before leaving for Real. The 30-year-old’s long-term future at the Santiago Bernabéu is in doubt with Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain interested in signing him, along with United.

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“I’d never advise anyone not to come back to United,” Beckham said. “I’d have crawled back if I could. But then obviously given the chance once I’d left United, to have played for one of the biggest clubs in the world – with Real Madrid, again it was a dream. But I’d never advise any player to not return to Manchester United.

“Cristiano is such a fans’ favourite at United, he was so successful, such a hard worker. Everyone you talk to, that has played with him, been around his world … he’s not just one of the most talented players in the game, he’s a hard worker as well. If he decides to leave Real Madrid then for me personally its back to United. I never had the opportunity to do so - but I’m proud of the teams I played for after United.”

On Saturday Beckham will play again at Old Trafford when he captains a Great Britain and Ireland team against a Rest of the World XI in a Unicef charity contest. This is the final game of a seven-continent, seven-match series that has also taken him to Antarctica, South America, North America, Asia, Africa and Australasia over the past nine days.

Louis van Gaal’s United have been criticised for their sometime dour style despite the team being only two points behind the Premier League leaders, Manchester City, and heading its Champions League group. Asked if the bottom line at United is winning rather than style Beckham said: “No, it’s not just about winning trophies here, the style definitely matters. It’s embedded into this club. We’ve always played with a certain style, with a certain passion, and I think when you play for Manchester United and are around the club you realise that. Style is important, but you have to play with a certain passion. Not every team is going to be the same. We were spoiled to be part of an era that gave us that chance.

“I think the style of football obviously has changed over the years, even when I was playing. It was starting to change then. You need fast wingers to get to the byline and cross it. We had that fortunately, the likes of Ryan Giggs that went past players, and Lee Sharpe and Andrei Kanchelskis and people like that.

“I was lucky that the time I came into the team, it was about Roy Keane winning the ball in midfield, giving it to the wide players, we just needed a yard to cross it and you’ve got the likes of Teddy Sheringham or Andy Cole or Eric Cantona or Dwight Yorke in the middle and that was our game.

“That’s the great thing about football, it changes over the years. You might want it to be the same but times change.”