"I am very happy," said Yau Ka-kit, a 21-year old student who was among the first in line. "I had been queuing up for four days but it was worth it."

"I'm a little tired, now I will go home and sleep," said Yau, who left with bloodshot eyes and four tickets.

A soccer fan in Hong Kong shows her tickets

Hundreds of disappointed fans jeered and booed when they learned all of the tickets had been snapped up by 3 a.m. The sale began at 9 p.m. on Thursday.

"We thought we would have a chance to get the tickets, but this is just so bad," said a young woman who joined the long queue at about midday on Thursday but left with nothing.

The exhibition match will see stars like David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo take to the field against a local side next Friday as part of a series of preseason games in Asia.

Some fans had begun lining up as early as Sunday outside Hong Kong's soccer stadium to wait for ticket sales to start.

Over 2,000 people were in the queue by Wednesday, huddling under makeshift tents to escape the withering summer heat.

The stadium has a seating capacity of 40,000, but half are reserved for the local football association and its affiliate clubs.

Regular tickets cost between HK$500 and HK$1,500 but on the black market they are being offered at upwards of HK$4,000 (US$513) apiece.

The Real Madrid frenzy has also seized Beijing and Tokyo, where the Spanish club is also due to play.

(US$=HK$7.8)