Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney is ready to face Real Madrid star Cristano Ronaldo in a one-on-one skills battle.

The star-studded line-up for the A:3K Football event on July 17 also includes Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas and £50m-rated Spain striker David Villa.

The players will compete head-to-head in a series of challenges. One that is bound to capture the public imagination will involve them trying to hit a target with a free-kick.

The challenges, which have been devised by a group of people including David Beckham's highly-respected former manager, Terry Byrne, will revolve around power, control and accuracy.

"These are elite players," Byrne said, "and they are competitive animals. There is going to be a lot of pressure on them because they are going to be out in the arena alone.

"They are not going to be able to rely on any team-mates to assist them in this challenge so there is not going to be any hiding place for them.

"One of the challenges will involve a ball being shot from a cannon at a player and he will have to try and volley it and hit a target, a bit like when Beckham used to hit his corners to Paul Scholes waiting on the edge of the box.

"Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa are already signed up. I can't confirm the identity of the last two players but we know we are working with the best in the world."

The event, which will take place in front of 15,000 spectators, will be screened by ITV1.