players in the same position meant one or the other was forced to play out of position in many games, with Beckham in central-defensive midfield when Figo was on the right, or Figo on the left when Beckham occupied the right. One former club director also reportedly quoted saying that Beckham was signed for his good looks and Ronaldinho, who joined Barcelona the same summer, was too "ugly" to play for Real Madrid. While Real Madrid failed to win any trophy for three straight seasons, Ronaldinho would lead the powerful resurgence of Barcelona; and furthermore he proved to be one of the most marketable players during that time. The 2003 pre-season Asian tour catered more to the needs of the club's marketing than to its players' preparations. Shortly after Beckham joined the club, the team embarked on an 18-day summer tour in Asia, to cash in on his worldwide appeal. It included exhibition matches in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok, which alone earned the club €10 million. Some have compared this tour with the first visit of The Beatles to the United States in 1964. Although lucrative and generating wide publicity, the preparation value of preseason in Asia was questionable, as the team failed to adequately prepare for the following season. It was exhausting for the players, as endless rounds of publicity engagements and restrictions on the players' freedom of movement (due to the team hotel being besieged by fans). Most players admitted that they would have preferred a low-profile training camp and/or to have been home in Spain for the pre-season, instead of playing meaningless show matches against low quality opponents. Poor transfer decisions, namely in regards to Samuel Eto'o. Real Madrid owned 50% of the contract Eto'o signed with Mallorca since 1998, and had first preference over where he could sign if he chose to leave Mallorca. Pérez sold these rights to Eto'o in 2004, arguing that Real Madrid already had the best two strikers in the league (Ronaldo and Raúl), and that there was no place for another forward. Eto'o himself also ruled out a move back to the club for similar reasons, despite Real Madrid signing another forward in Michael Owen that same summer. Eto'o would later join Barcelona, and lead them to 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2008–09 La Liga titles, as well as 2005–06 and 2008–09 Champions League titles. Meanwhile, Owen, the alternative signing to