Ronaldo's girl is the real deal

CRISTIANO RONALDO's girlfriend IRINA SHAYK looks rear-ly something in her smalls.


The Russian, 24, who has been dating the £200,000-a-week Real Madrid ace, 25, since May, was posing for a La Senza lingerie shoot.

Model Irina has admitted in the past: "I think the power of seduction is within every woman, but I feel more sexy wearing lingerie."

Roberto Mancini tells homesick Mario Balotelli to learn from Cristiano Ronaldo and become a Manchester City superstar

Roberto Mancini has confirmed that Mario Balotelli's problems at Manchester City are due to a failure to settle in England.

Sportsmail revealed today that City's 20-year-old striker has told friends that he is chronically homesick and wants to return to his home country.

City are determined that coach Mancini can use his close personal bond with Balotelli to bring the £24million striker out of his shell, starting with this afternoon's game against Aston Villa in which the former Inter Milan man was handed a start.

But Mancini told Italian paper Gazzetta Dello Sport: 'He has to understand this country and this football before he can give his best.

'Mario is working on it and knows he has to do more for himself as well as for the team. When he assimilates this concept and makes use of his superior qualities, he'll become an important player.

'He can be decisive in every game, with any team. My assistant Brian Kidd has told me that Cristiano Ronaldo had Mario's same problems when he arrived at United and needed time to adjust.

'Mario is learning. Even a World Cup winner like (David) Silva struggled at the beginning. Silva has managed to, and now he's playing great.'

Balotelli has picked up five cards - four yellow and one red - in his 10 games for City and has scored the same number of goals. At times he has baffled City's staff and fans with his behaviour.

Dropped for the Boxing Day win at Newcastle, it is far from certain that he will start when City face Aston Villa at home in the Barclays Premier League on Tuesday afternoon.

One certain starter, though, is captain Carlos Tevez and Mancini claimed that the dispute over the South American's future is now over.

'That's the result of a fine work by our club,' he said. 'All sorted, crisis ended. He's one of the best strikers in the world, besides beeing a good person, with a really exceptional heart.

'Many clubs like Carlos, but he has a contract with City until 2014.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1342185/Mario-Balotelli-learn-Cristiano-Ronaldo-says-Roberto-Mancini.html#ixzz19RbdBR9t

Jose Mourinho denies rift with Real Madrid director after Cristiano Ronaldo inspires 8-0 Copa del Rey win

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, fresh from an 8-0 Copa del Rey win over Levante in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema scored hat-tricks, has denied a breakdown in his relationship with director Jorge Valdano amid claims of tension between them.


Mourinho complained at the weekend that the club were not doing enough to support his criticism of referees he believed favoured opposing sides and Spanish media later said he and Valdano were at loggerheads over the issue.

“I can deny that the personal relationship is bad,” said Mourinho, who insists he intends to see out the four years of his contract with the La Liga giants.

“I have no personal problems with anyone. That’s the most important thing.”

Valdano for his part said the media reaction to Mourinho’s comments about referees had been exaggerated and it was “a small thing”.

“We all have a certain type of personality and you have to accept that,” the Argentine added.

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo: The Most Overrated Player In History

Before I begin this article, I am going to preface it with a brief statement on my soccer history.

Soccer has and will always retain a special place in my heart.

My love for soccer transcends that of an average fan and has developed into something akin to an obsession. Rationality, for me, triumphs over emotions and that is why I have found it difficult to support the same team for a long time.

In the past nine years, I have supported Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona FC, AC Milan and currently Bayern Munich.

Trophies are also immaterial to me and only a good display of soccer artistry quenches my thirst. This in turn helps me to make rational decisions on most footballing matters, since I am not bogged down by any form of fanaticism.

Case in point—ask any Arsenal supporter who the best midfielder in the world is and the reply would probably be Samir Nasri or Cesc Fàbregas. This is an article for another day, but I highly doubt that Nasri is better than someone like Nuri Şahin (who is one of the most technically gifted players I have ever seen).



In order to further ensure my neutrality, I attempt every Saturday and Sunday to watch every single game involving players I deem to be world class.

For example, last season I watched almost every single Bayern, AC Milan and Inter Milan game after the January break. I also watched a decent amount of Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid games. In the Champions League, I watched every significant matchup.

It is fair to say that if you name any great player, I can tell you somewhat accurately his abilities without “guessing” or making a biased statement.

So please bear with me through this article as I state my case.

Sorry for boring you with my banter. I will now discuss what brought you all here—Cristiano Ronaldo. Often described by some as the “golden” boy of soccer. FIFA World Player of the year in 2008. Ballon D’or recipient in 2008. Fif Pro winner.

Most expensive player in history, valued at $100 million dollars by Real Madrid when they bought him in 2009.

Quickly though, who exactly is Cristiano Ronaldo?

A player who, at 18, cemented his place in Manchester United, taking over from the equally overrated David Beckham. Check.

A player who can probably boast of having the largest fan base, which spans your average soccer joe, all the way to your typical fawning female. Check.
Imagesronaldo_crop_340x234

A player who has won his fair share of trophies. Check.

A very handsome player. Check.

A player privileged to play under the likes of Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho. Check.

The most overrated player in history.

Double check.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the adjective overrated as—to have a higher opinion of (someone or something) than is deserved.

This is exactly everything Cristiano embodies.

He is talented, no doubt. However, due to some superficial factors and an abundance of people I fondly describe as "nut huggers," his abilities have been grossly overstated.

To begin my analysis of him, I will begin by first of all refuting the so called cons of Cristiano, i.e. everything a typical die hard fan of his would tell you in order to convince you of his god-like abilities.



Case One: Cristiano has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award, which is the most prestigious award any footballer could win.

This is something I hear almost every time I deign it fit to argue about Cristiano.

First off, the FIFA World Player of the Year is as prestigious as the Golden Bin award. No self respecting soccer fan can actually tell me that the award is a just representation of soccer skills.

An award voted for by captains and coaches of National teams simply cannot be taken seriously.

Basically, FIFA is telling me that the coach of a country like Nigeria, who probably only watches matches involving Nigerian soccer prospects, is fit to tell me who the best player in the world is.

I highly doubt so.

In order to increase the validity of the award, FIFA should select a broader sample of individuals to choose the best player.

This year’s award finally exposed the numerous errors evident in the selection process for this award. If you honestly believe that Andrés Iniesta deserved a place in the final three ahead of Wesley Sneijder, please do me a favor and stop reading this article.



Case Two: In 2008, Cristiano scored 31 goals in the best league in the world—the Premier League.

Another often heard statement. I personally find this statement almost as laughable as the U.S. soccer team, especially because I find the “best league in the world” tag that has been attached to the Premier League highly intriguing.
107745071_crop_340x234 Denis Doyle/Getty Images

This tag is a by-product of the influential English media, who somehow manage to control majority of the news materials we get. The same English media that touted a team consisting of the likes of Heskey, Ledley King, Gareth Barry, Crouch and Milner as possible challengers for the World Cup.

The same media that constantly calls any English player who can kick the ball more than two yards a world class player, i.e. David Beckham, Peter Crouch, Frank Lampard, etc.

Well, comparing the Premier League to the La Liga and Serie A is once again an article for another day.

All I can say for now is that of the top 10 most prolific scorers in Champions League history, only three plied their trade in England. Out of the 40 teams that have contested the last 20 Champions League Finals, only seven have been English teams.

The German league, which has fewer representatives, has only two less than that.

Also, the English league's sole period of dominance in the Champions league—‘07 to ‘08—came after a turbulent period for the Serie A—the Calciopoli scandal.

The oft-disregarded UEFA Cup also has similar statistics. Out of the last 26 finalists, only four were English teams.
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Cristiano scored 31 goals in the league, which I confess is a fantastic tally. However, the manner in which he did it is something I will discuss later on.

Furthermore, Wayne Rooney did the exact same thing two seasons later. This reduces how much weight I place on this particular achievement of Cristiano.



Case Three: Cristiano is the most expensive player ever.

Zlatan Ibrahimović is the second most expensive player ever. I am not knocking Zlatan, but the fact that he is second shows how irrelevant transfer fees are when it comes to judging a player’s ability.

This is coming from a fan of AC Milan.



Case Four: Cristiano is the most skillful player alive.

Another statement I have heard on numerous occasions. If you count jumping over the ball 10 times with no end product skillful, then maybe he is. Robinho does the exact same thing and I don’t see him getting accolades for his stupidity like Cristiano does.

The day I see Cristiano score an individually brilliant goal, like Robben’s at Fiorentina or Messi’s at Getafe, is the day I will accept that he is even remotely skillful.

With that being said and done, I will now attempt to explain why I personally think Cristiano is overrated.


Reason One: Cristiano lacks the ability to change a game.

This, in my own opinion, is Ronaldo’s biggest problem. He lacks the most important skill any world-class player should have and that is the ability to turn things around when the going gets tough.

How many games has Ronaldo disappeared in when the going gets tough? In fact, the more important question should be: how many games against world-class defenders has Ronaldo excelled in?

Well, to the best of my knowledge, none.

I can, however, state games against such defenses that Ronaldo has failed to excel in.

Every single Portugal game in a major competition immediately springs to mind, especially Portugal vs. Spain (2010 World Cup) and Portugal vs. Germany (Euro 2008). The El Clasico (’09 and ’10). Manchester United vs. Barcelona(Champions League Final). Real Madrid vs. Valencia and Sevilla.

In the Champions League, only 10 of his 27 goals have come during the competitive knockout stages.

Yet, he has no qualms with scoring hat-tricks against the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Mallorca, Newcastle and co. There’s a word for that: bully.



Reason Two: Cristiano scores way too many simple goals and can’t assist one to save his life.

This in itself is tied to reason one. In the ‘07-‘08 season, Ronaldo scored 42 goals in all competitions. This seems impressive, until you breakdown the type of goals that constituted his tally.

Nine were simple tap-ins, six of them were penalties, five were free kicks and eight were headers that arose due to defensive frailties. The rest were against teams of no consequence.

Coincidence, right?

Last season, Ronaldo scored 33 goals in all competitions. Four were penalties, nine were simple tap-ins and six were free kicks. The rest, as usual, came against teams of no consequence.

Also, he has managed only 25 assists in the past three and a half seasons. Comparatively, Messi managed 25 assists in one and a half seasons.

In my own opinion, a “complete” player like Ronaldo should be able to help the same teammates who assisted him in getting nine simple tap-ins.

P.S. This article was initially meant to be about Cristiano Ronaldo and why he can’t be compared to Messi or Robben, but I decided otherwise because I knew that an all out three-way battle between Bayern, Real Madrid and Barcelona fanatics would ensue.

Ronaldo hat trick as Real Madrid routs Levante 8-0

MADRID – Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema had three goals each to lead Real Madrid to an 8-0 rout of Levante on Wednesday night in the first leg of the fifth round of Spain's Copa del Rey.

Ronaldo scored in the 45th, 72nd and 74th minutes, raising his season total to 25 goals in 24 matches in all competitions for Madrid this season.

Benzema connected in the sixth, 32nd and 70th minutes, and Mesut Oezil and Pedro Leon also scored. The second leg of the total-goals series is at Levante on Jan. 5.

Also, Simao Sabrosa's 33rd-minute penalty kick gave Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol as both teams finished a man short.

Atletico president Enrique Cerezo recently said Simao will soon be transferred to Turkey's Besiktas, and the Portuguese winger received a standing ovation from the crowd at Vicente Calderon stadium when he was substituted late.

Koffi Romaric scored twice in Sevilla's 5-3 win over Malaga, Jose Ulloa had a hat trick to give Almeria a 4-3 win over Mallorca, and Getafe beat second-division Real Betis 2-1.

Cristiano Ronaldo Included In Real Madrid Squad For Copa Del Rey Clash With Levante Despite Fever

Ronaldo is in Madrid's squad for the Round of 16 clash against Levante...


Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has decided to include Cristiano Ronaldo in his 20-man squad for Wednesday's Copa del Rey encounter with Levante.

The Portugal international withdrew from Tuesday morning's training session complaining of fever and although there is a considerable degree of doubt whether he can recover in time for tomorrow's first-leg clash, he has been named in the squad.

Wing-back Marcelo and midfielder Xabi Alonso have also been included after serving one-match suspensions against Sevilla in the Primera Division at the weekend.

Alvaro Arbeloa is suspended while Kaka, Fernando Gago, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Canales, Sami Khedira and Jerzy Dudek are unavailable because of injury.

The squad list in full:

Goalkeepers: Casillas, Adan, Pacheco.

Defenders: Pepe, Albiol, Marcelo, Carvalho, Garay, Mateos.

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Lass, Diarra, Granero, Oezil, Di Maria, Pedro Leon, Juanfran.

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Morata.

Everyone At Real Madrid Hates Cristiano Ronaldo

The next few times Cristiano Ronaldo scores a goal and starts doing his "I'm great, me!" celebration shtick, look closely. What's wrong with the picture? Oh yeah, that's it.

NO ONE ELSE IS CELEBRATING WITH HIM.

According to Spain's most popular football radio show, El Larguero, that's because, astonishingly, none of his Real Madrid teammates actually like him.

In fact, Iker Casillas hates him — and in his case, it's all to do with his famously sexy girlfriend Sara Carbonero.

Apparently relations between Casillas and Ronaldo have been strained ever since Carbonero described CRon as being "very selfish" on a Spanish chat show.

The jinking winger was allegedly so offended he took it up directly with the Casillas, who was forced to make an apology on Sara's behalf.

The situation wasn't helped when, two days later, club president Florentino Perez called a meeting hours prior a game, solely to put on a special screening of Carbonero's announcement for everyone who might not have watched it first time round — ostensibly in a cackhanded attempt at convincing Ronaldo not to worry about it.

In addition, it's being claimed the 25-year-old Portuguese doesn't believe his teammates offer enough support when he receives stick from fans. El Larguero say Cristiano reckons he should be as loved at Real as Messi is at Barcelona … and is amazed the rest of his colleagues don't feel the same way.

Apparently CR7 only has three friends at the Bernabeu: Pepe, the Brazilian defender with a penchant for using opponents as human dancefloors; Marcelo; and new boy Angel di Maria, who obviously hasn't been around Ronny long enough to realise what a **** he is.

Via Marca

Barcelona's Dani Alves: Cristiano Ronaldo Is Too Arrogant To Be The World's Best Player

Barcelona full-back Dani Alves brands Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo 'a little bit arrogant'.


Barcelona defender Dani Alves believes that Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo is too arrogant to be considered the best player in the world.

The Brazilian full-back discussed the Portuguese international in an interview with A Bola, stating that although he has no doubts about Ronaldo’s abilities as a footballer, there are some elements about his personality that need work.

Alves remarked: “To be the best player in the world, you cannot just play well, you must also be liked by other people, and I understand that his attitude ends up hurting, a little, the great player that he really is.

“I do not doubt that Cristiano is one of the best players in the world today, and he has many skills, but at the same time he also has flaws. I think that the best player in the world should be quiet, humble, and friendly. Lionel Messi is all of these things, while Cristiano often lacks some of these qualities.”

The former Sevilla full-back also spoke of his current contract negotiations with the Blaugrana, adding: “My priority is Barcelona, but I cannot close any doors. I feel happy, but both sides have to agree first.”

Premier League - Liverpool 'could have signed Ronaldo'

Gerard Houllier has admitted that he turned down the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo when he was Liverpool manager back in 2003.


The Frenchman, who will return to Anfield for the first time as an opposing manager with his Aston Villa side on Monday night, said that Ronaldo's wage demands and the fact that he already had Harry Kewell were behind his decision to not sign the Portuguese winger.

Ronaldo, then with Sporting Lisbon, instead signed for rivals Manchester United for £12.24 million and after six hugely successful seasons at Old Trafford, he moved to Real Madrid for a world record fee of £80m.

"I saw him (Ronaldo) in the Toulon U21 tournament and we went for him, but we had a wage scale and we weren't paying the sort of salary he wanted," Houllier is quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph.

"Then Manchester United played a friendly against Sporting Lisbon and all their boys said to Sir Alex Ferguson, 'You have to sign him'. But I agreed with not breaking the wage structure. I thought it would cause problems in our dressing room.

"I know some of the signings were not as sharp as they could have been. Maybe we would have won the title with Ronaldo, but we had Harry Kewell, who was outstanding at the time and was very hungry but got a bad injury. After that, he never had the same confidence, the same appetite."

A year after he rejected the chance to sign Ronaldo, Houllier left Liverpool by mutual consent. He said he was hopeful of a good reaction from the Anfield crowd on his return.

"It will be interesting to see what the Liverpool crowd is like," he said,

"I trust them to be good. After all, I didn’t go afterwards to Everton or Manchester United."

Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo To Face Off In February As Argentina Take On Portugal

Argentina will meet Portugal in a friendly match scheduled to be played in the Emirates Stadium on February 9th...


Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will get another chance to prove who is the best player in the world, as the Barcelona and Real Madrid superstars line up against each other for the first time wearing their international jerseys.

The Argentine FA announced on their website that the Albiceleste and Portugal would play a friendly on February 9, 2011, in London's Emirates Stadium. The game will be the first encounter between the two countries since 1972, when Portugal defeated Argentina 3-1 in Brazil.

Aside from Portugal the AFA have also lined up matches against the United States and Costa Rica away from home. The Seleccion will be in Seattle on March 26, before flying to Central America for a game which will inaugurate Costa Rica's new national stadium three days later.

Cristiano Ronaldo pushes Pep Guardiola during El Clasico

Barcelona coach plays down confrontation with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo during 5-0 thrashing of Jose Mourinho's side at the Nou Camp.

"These things happen on the pitch." - Pep Guardiola.

"I was caught close to the action and although it was unpleasant, these things happen. In these games there is much tension." - Andres Iniesta.

One suspects that if Barcelona had been on the receiving end of a beating in El Clasico, rather than the other way around, Cristiano Ronaldo's push on the Catalans' coach Pep Guardiola would not have been so easily dismissed. That said, it was easy for Barcelona to magnanimously swat the issue aside once a 5-0 thrashing had been completed at Camp Nou.

The coming together between C-Ron and Pep was one of the major flashpoints during a match packed with controversial moments. The incident unnecessarily bubbled up towards the end of the first half as Ronaldo went to collect possession from Guardiola after the ball had been kicked out for a Real Madrid throw-in. Rather than simply hand the ball to Ronaldo, Guardiola intentionally turfed the ball just to the side of the Portuguese forward. Not liking that one bit, Ronaldo then lost his cool and pushed the Barca boss in an obvious act of aggression.

Cue the brawl.

Furious at seeing their coach man-handled, Iniesta and then the rest of the Barcelona team immediately set upon Ronaldo to protest against his over-the-top reaction. Losing control though was not just a problem for Los Blancos, with Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes charging 50 yards out of his goal to foolishly give Ronaldo a piece of his mind.

After several minutes of pushing and shoving, matters finally simmered down. The result was that both Ronaldo and Valdes collected bookings, while Guardiola, perhaps surprisingly for his part in the whole flare-up, got off with a reprimand.

Footage of the coming together between Cristiano Ronaldo and Pep Guardiola can be seen below:

Ronaldo downplays duel with Messi in 'clasico'

Cristiano Ronaldo believes any attempt to reduce the "clasico" match between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Monday night to a personal duel with Lionel Messi would be "foolishness."

The Portugal forward leads Messi by one goal in the Spanish league scoring list heading into the matchup at Camp Nou featuring the top two teams and the past two FIFA players of the year.

Ronaldo has 14 league goals to 13 for Messi, who has 25 in 20 appearances for club and country this season. Ronaldo has 20 in 22.

"To talk about a duel between me and Messi is foolishness," Ronaldo said Saturday from the Spanish club's training ground. "It's a duel between the two best teams in Spain. Messi, like me, will try to do his most to help his team win.

"I'm just another player in this team. Things are working out well, as much for me as the team, but I don't feel any more pressure than the rest. We all have our responsibilities."

Ronaldo has never scored against Barcelona in five meetings, while Messi has seven goals in eight matches against Madrid. Messi has scored in nine consecutive games for Barcelona, 10 in a row including his goal for Argentina that beat Brazil.

"I'm not obsessed with goals. I don't obsess about scoring against Barca," Ronaldo said. "I want to score against everybody, not just Barca, and I try to do my best against everyone. Sure it would be special, but my motivation is the same with all."

The highly anticipated match will be the first between the teams since Jose Mourinho took charge of Madrid, which has no trophies in the past two seasons compared to eight for Barcelona.

Madrid leads the league after 12 games, one point ahead of Barcelona.

If Cristiano Ronaldo wants to play at the highest level, he will need to return to Manchester United

A lot of players at Manchester United tend to go two ways when leaving Old Trafford. They either do not make it at the club and get sold to a club for whom a former United player now manages, or they feel that to be right at the top they need to join Spanish club Real Madrid. Most that head in the direction of Madrid are normally wrong, in a four year period a Real Madrid player may end up with one or two trophies, five or six managers, and a good six months warming the bench.

Such is the fluctuation of business at Real Madrid these days that one could really see Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Old Trafford for another bite of the apple. The former United winger started well over there, but soon got injured and is now on the wrong end of some poor form. The Spanish fans are far less forgiving than us British, suffer poor form, play badly for a few weeks and they forget who you are. It’s happened with Kaka, Ronaldo (The Brazilian), Van Nistelrooy and probably many others.

In fact the only players that the fans ever remained truly loyal to were that of Raul and Roberto Carlos, anyone else was just part and parcel of the same game that you would never get at Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo is still young at 25, his best form possibly yet to come but he needs to be at a club that can offer stability and not a club which will offload you as soon as the next footballing star from Brazil is spotted on a beach in Rio.

Manchester United has everything a top class footballer needs, Ronaldo will not be enjoying the press taking part in every training session and he certainly won’t be enjoying the white flags every time Real Madrid drop two or three points. The grass is not always greener on the other side but we can say this, the grass is definitely greener at Old Trafford than it is at the Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo in his underwear: Real Madrid star models for Armani

Cristiano Ronaldo has swapped his hotpants for something even skimpier in the new campaign for Emporio Armani Underwear.

The Real Madrid footballer has replaced David Beckham as the face - and body - of the Italian brand.

Never the modest type, Ronaldo appears to have embraced his new modelling career with gusto, striking a series of moody poses and showing off a six-pack which would make Becks green with envy.

The 24-year-old reportedly maintains his chiseled abs by performing 3,000 sit-ups a day.

Giorgio Armani was full of praise for the "sexy" sportsman.

"Cristiano is a great-looking young man with the perfect physique of an athlete," Armani said.

"For me, he is the essence of youth - spontaneous, exciting and a real maverick. It is for his energy that I have chosen Cristiano to become the new face of Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani Underwear - for his youthful, exciting, and, yes, sexy attitude."

In the ad for Armani Jeans, also in moody black and white, Ronaldo can barely keep the jeans on.

He said: "Giorgio Armani is a legend in the fashion world and I have long been a fan of his work. I am very pleased with the pictures we have done together - they are certainly striking and are full of attitude and a spirit I can relate to."

The footballer's fashion sense is legendary and was the cause of much hilarity when he was at Manchester United.

His style crimes included metallic hotpants and a love of baby pink. When he was ridiculed for wearing tiny shorts and tucking a pink flower behind his ear last summer, he retorted: "I don't know why people are so interested in what I wear on holiday. Men wear pink these days. OK, not many men were flowers, but it's good to be different."

Ronaldo joins Megan Fox, the Transformers actress, unveiled this week as the female face of Emporio Armani.

Ex-Real Madrid president Sanz slates Florentino, Ronaldo: Like Tarzan in shorts!

Former Real Madrid Lorenzo Sanz has lashed out at Florentino Perez's current regime.

Sanz slammed the massive spending by Florentino during the summer market.

"Under me, Real became a great team at a much lower cost than what is done now. In my day we paid 5,500 million pesetas for Anelka, but we sold him for 6,000 the following year. The figures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka are dizzy. No player is worth that money," Sanz told terra.es.

"I read on the cover of a newspaper that Cristiano would generate 80 million euros a year at Madrid. This is something no-one can believe. Either we are all fools or Ronaldo is an idiot.

"Ronaldo is shown in the media like Tarzan in shorts!

"He must get up in he morning, see himself on the front pages of the newspapers, and believe he is Superman or God."

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo Says Insults Go In One Ear And Out The Other

The most expensive signing in football has said that the pressure does not really bother him...



After reportedly being subjected to persistent and unrelenting harassment by the Osasuna fans in last weekend's match at the Reyno de Navarra, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has played down talk that the verbal abuse is getting under his skin.

Subjected to insults such as "Cristiano, die!" in his first visit to Pamplona, Ronaldo has faced hostile, even intimidating atmospheres away from the Bernabeu.

CR9 experienced similar insults in the match against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, along with a laser pointed directly into his eyes, and missed a golden opportunity to score with just Victor Valdes at his mercy. Similarly, on Sunday, Ronaldo was unable to silence the crowd, exhibiting a number of poor touches and blasting a free kick dreadfully wayward into the stands.

However, the Portuguese phenom has been quick to dispel the notion that the insults are affecting his performance, saying they "go in one ear and out the other", as reported by Spanish sports daily Marca.

The winger also spoke of the huge amount of attention he is garnering as the new face of Real Madrid, commenting: "this has both its positives and its negatives. When we do things well, they applaud us a lot more, but when we do not go out and do what we want, we feel more pressure. Being received with whistles and insults is nothing new for me. After the 2006 World Cup (in which he slotted home a penalty to dump England out of the World Cup) this happened to me in every stadium in England and I ended up being chosen as the best player in the league. It doesn't affect me."

In an interview with the magazine So Foot before signing for Real Madrid, the Portuguese also spoke of this theme. "It does not really matter to me if they insult me...in fact I like it. I love seeing hate in their eyes and seeing the insults. It's not really important. The truth is that many people hate me, but there are many more who like me. I only feel poorly when I play poorly."