Serge The Masseur: Si, the women are all looking, Cristiano.
CR: Yes, but are they looking like the hungry she-wolf when she pants on the prowl for meat, Serge? This is how the woman should always look at Cristiano Ronaldo when he is of the naked.
Serge: Si. They low and pant like the she-wolf when she has first sighted a fat young boy with a broken leg crying for his momma.
CR: I am not convinced. Massage my abdominals to show them how defined and beautiful they are.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Serge, the women are looking at me.
Let’s talk some popular entertainment gossip today, about Cristiano Ronaldo And Paris Hilton met in night recently. Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger for English Premier League club Manchester United and as captain for the Portuguese national team. Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s most expensive athlete because Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent wrap up the details of his 130-million-dollar transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
Last year, Paris Hilton is laughing off reports that she was rejected by Soccer God Cristiano Ronaldo. But a few days ago, The two were spotted in Nightclub My House and although both employed the use of bodyguards to block a view of their interaction, Cristiano Ronaldo was seen sneaking into Nicky Hilton’s house with both Paris and her sister, Nicky. Then left together for Paris’ sister Nicky’s apartment, where Cristiano Ronaldo stayed till 5 am.
The Albanian fans do not lack any sense of humour. They were looking to make fun of Portugal, who are in danger of missing out on the place in South Africa, and their ‘best’ player Cristiano Ronaldo by lifting the banner which portrayed the pretty boy of Manchester United as Miss World for the year 2010. Portugal somehow managed to win the game, thanks to injury time winner by Bruno Alves, and they thus kept slim chances of reaching the World Cup but the game will definitely be remembered by the aforementioned event rather than by the quality of the teams’ performance.
Albanian fans found a great way to mock Cristiano Ronaldo, who is obviously more concerned with his looks and style of his haircut than with anything that happens on the football pitch. Referring to Ronaldo’s chances of winning the World Player of the Year award second time in a row, which are at best pretty slim after a wretched season, the fans erected the banner which made the whole footballing world laugh. And how Portugal’s rivals in the group would have laughed if only Bruno Alves hadn’t scored an injury time winner, without which Carlos Queiroz’s team would be out of the race for the place in South Africa.
The ‘incident’ only portrayed the true situation in Portuguese national team at the moment, which are largely struggling under Carlos Queiroz, and where a player like Cristiano Ronaldo is the first star of the team. I just wonder how he deserved such a status. The looks can get you anything these days, right?
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is confident that his club will not be forced into paying excessive fees to try and emulate Real Madrid’s expected transfer activity.
Madrid are close to tying up a world record deal for AC Milan’s Kaka, with the likes of Franck Ribery and Cristiano Ronaldo also being linked with the Bernabeu club.
However, Laporta insists that his club will not be splashing the cash in a similar way.
He commented: “We are not going to show off by paying so much money for one player.
“I just hope that we don’t have to end up paying these excessive prices for players.
“From Barcelona’s point of view, we will try to be sensible and stay true to our criterion when it comes to this issue.”
Valencia midfielder David Silva has admitted to being flattered by reported interest from Real Madrid.
The Spain winger claims the interest is little more than speculation at the moment, but has hinted that a summer switch to the Bernabeu would be an appealing prospect.
Real are believed to be keen to sign both Silva and striker David Villa from a cash-strapped Los Che.
"I don't know anything and I still haven't talked to my agents," he said.
"That a team like Real Madrid are interested is good for Valencia and for me.
"At the moment I am focused on the national team. I hope everything works out well.
"It's flattering that a team like Real Madrid are interested but at the moment I am at Valencia."
Barcelona's Spain international midfielder Andres Iniesta is facing a lengthy spell out of action due to a thigh injury in his right leg.
The 25-year-old played with the problem in the Champions League final victory over Manchester United, but is now set to miss his country's Confederations Cup campaign.
Iniesta had reported for duty with the national team, but further tests on his injury had provided bad news.
Spain doctor Oscar Celada confirmed: "He has an injury which has a very high chance of suffering a relapse.
"We have to look out for Andres' health and not expose him to a relapse.
"The recovery period is long, between six and eight weeks. He is crushed to see that the injury is worse than what he could have thought at the beginning."
Franz Beckenbauer called for the future of Franck Ribery to be decided fast to prevent a long-running soap opera.
The France international has been linked with a host of clubs, including Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United, but Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness has sent out mixed signals by first claiming he was not for sale at any price and then expressing his willingness to speak to new Real president Florentino Perez.
Beckenbauer wants the issue resolved, either by signing Ribery to a new contract or selling him.
"I can see only two solutions: Ribery extends his contract so the issue is dealt with or we release him," he said.
"I rate Ribery alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi as the best footballers in the world at present," he added in the Bild newspaper.
"If he were to leave, it would be the second huge loss for the Bundesliga after Diego.
"However, if Ribery wants to leave, then it will be hard for us to keep hold of him."
Nevertheless, Beckenbauer does not believe Bayern's world would fall apart without the 26-year-old.
"So many so-called irreplaceable players have gone yet football has still moved on," he said.
"Obviously it would be a shame, though, and it is hard to imagine Bayern being better without Ribery."
Real are believed to be preparing a bid which would tempt Bayern's new Dutch coach Louis van Gaal by offering his two compatriots Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder offered together with a sizeable sum for a man who, according to Hoeness, has just one of his legs valued at 50 million euros.
There can be no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo fully merits his place among the game’s elite, having been chosen as both European and World player of the year.
Were keeping him at Manchester United a decision to be made purely on his merit, performances and returns as a footballer, he would never, ever leave if the club had anything to do with it.
But there's no doubt that at some level Ronaldo wants to play for Real Madrid. Perhaps his Latin blood draws him to the Spanish giants; perhaps he simply wants to live in a sunnier climate. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter.
His professional head will be telling him that Manchester United are currently a better team and a better-run club with stronger prospects on the field, but he can't resist a romantic urge to become a new-wave Galactico and wear Madrid’s white.
This presents his current employers with a significant dilemma. While they hold a strong negotiating position at present, with the player under contract until 2012, they run the risk of him running down that contract, not signing an extension, and leaving for relatively little by way of a transfer fee in the future.
Liverpool’s Fernando Torres has openly and publicly committed himself to Anfield by signing a new deal – dare United offer one to Ronaldo and invoke the possibility of him rejecting it?
Manchester United are preparing to go head-to-head with Real Madrid in a bid to sign Antonio Valencia from Wigan.
United are reluctant to pay Wigan's asking price of £16 million even though it is understood that Valencia, the Ecuadorian winger, would prefer to stay in the Premier League.
According to the Daily Mail, the two clubs made an initial agreement about the transfer last December but Sir Alex Ferguson's scouts were underwhelmed by the 23 year-old's performances in the second half of the season and as such are questioning his value.
Real meanwhile are understood to have offered the asking price last month, and despite their pursuit of Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery and United's Cristiano Ronaldo, remain interested in Valencia.
Valencia's agent, Diego Herrera, said: "I cannot confirm the news that Manchester and Madrid have made bids because I haven't spoken with Wigan yet.
"I will be in touch with them st the start of the week, hopefully on Monday. Of course this is great news because it is the right moment for Antonio Valencia to join a bigger club and start a new challenge with a great team.
"He has proved himself in the Premier League with Wigan and is definitely good enough to make the step to something bigger.
"They are both great football clubs and making a decision is tough."
Meanwhile, Steve Bruce, the former Wigan manager who recently switched to Sunderland, is understood to have expressed interest in signing Titus Bramble and Lee Cattermole from the JJB Stadium club.
Manchester United is all set to strike a 17 million pounds deal for Wigan winger Luis Antonio Valencia.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is confident that the Ecuador star will become part of his team instead of joining rivals Real Madrid, because the player is keen to play for United.
United have been discussing player exchanges, but this is now unlikely because Steve Bruce has left and Roberto Martinez is set to take over as boss. Wigan may now prefer straight cash.
Last month, Real had sent a delegation to Wigan, and were willing to pay around 18 million pounds, the Mirror reported.
However, Valencia is only second-choice at Real behind United's Cristiano Ronaldo, and he is more interested in staying in the Premier League.
Valencia is on World Cup duty with his country, but can return to England at the end of the week. He hopes to have a medical at United as soon as possible.
His inclusion in United is not being seen as an exit for Ronaldo.
Valencia is more of a potential replacement for the disappointing Nani, but he could also become a right- wing regular- with Ferguson planning to mix and match next season.
Ronaldo could play a central role more often, while Valencia can also be used in midfield. (ANI)
Cristiano Ronaldo and Simao Sabrosa will miss Portugal's friendly against Estonia in Tallinn on Wednesday due to injuries, the Portuguese Football Federation said.
Both players featured in Portugal's last-gasp 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Albania in Tirana on Saturday.
Portugal squad doctor Henrique Jones said after that match that Ronaldo was unlikely to travel to Tallinn because of an existing groin injury. Simao has a thigh strain.
Portugal have also released Deco, Joao Moutinho and Jose Bosingwa from the squad, without giving reasons.
Victory on Saturday prevented Portugal sliding further out of the reckoning for qualification from Group One. At the moment they are third with nine points, four behind Hungary and seven behind leaders Denmark.
Only the group winners qualify directly for the finals, with eight of the nine second-placed teams go through to a play-off.
(Reporting by Shrikesh Laxmidas; Editing by Kevin Fylan. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
AC Milan playmaker Kaka has undergone a medical in Brazil at the request of Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants are looking to strengthen their squad over the summer and have been linked with several of the world's top players since Florentino Perez took over as president.
Kaka is among their top targets and Milan have admitted it could be difficult to keep him during the transfer window.
Rossoneri owner Silvio Berlusconi is set to speak with Kaka in an effort to persuade him to stay but a world-record move to the Santiago Bernabeu is expected to go through.
Such a switch has now moved a step closer with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirming that Kaka has had a medical.
The 27-year-old, who has previously been linked with Premier League clubs, is currently in his homeland on international duty.
A statement on the CBF website read: "The technical committee of the Brazilian national team attended the request of Kaka and the board of Real Madrid and released the player to perform the routine examinations in a clinic in Recife.
"The CBF had to make all the arrangements for the test through its Medical Department head Jose Luiz Runco, who accompanied the player during the tests."
Kaka will link up with his Brazil team-mates for training before holding a press conference later in the day when an announcement could be made.
Brazil face Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday after beating Uruguay 4-0 over the weekend.
Kaka scored the fourth goal from the penalty spot after being felled in the area.
Those people who complain that football has become too much about business and not about the game itself, have a funny idea about what constitutes business. What kind of business would voluntarily rush headlong into massive debt and continue down that same path during a time of economic hardship and recession?
The combined Premier League clubs’ debt is currently hovering around the £3.1bn mark according to Deloitte’s annual review of football finance. Of this top-flight debt two-thirds of it is owed by the ‘Big Four’. Chelsea owe Roman Abramovich £701m. Manchester United owe banks and hedge funds £649m and other creditors about £50m more. Arsenal owe £416m, spent largely on the Emirates Stadium and on property development at Highbury.
Interestingly, Liverpool, who have been pronounced to be deep in financial crisis this week, ‘only’ owe about £350m. The problem for Liverpool in contrast to the other three clubs is that they do not have the resources to adequately cover their interest payments. Both Manchester United and Arsenal have far bigger stadiums and can generate significantly larger match day revenues, whilst Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich is unlikely to behave in the same manner as a bank when confronted with such a scale of debt.
Kop Football Ltd, the company created by George Gillet Jnr and Tom Hicks when they bought the club, posted losses of £42.6m for the year to July 2008, mainly down to interest payments of £36.5m on loans taken out by the Americans to buy Liverpool. However reports in today’s papers suggest that Liverpool will be able to compete in teh transfer market with Manchester United, if not Chelsea and Manchester City.
Debts mean prizes!
The sad thing for football in general and English football in particular is that these four indebted clubs are the only ones capable of challenging for the major prizes. The situation is not markedly different in the other major European leagues. Real Madrid, with the financially insane Florentino Perez at the helm once more, are in the process of completing the signing of Kaka from AC Milan for £56m and will follow that up by attempting to pay even more for long-time target Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, as well as offering over £15m for Wigan’s Antomio Valencia and possibly following up their declared interets in Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso.
Gang of three
Competing with Real Madrid for the biggest names in world football this summer will be Chelsea, under new manager Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City, backed by their oil-rich Sheik Mansour. One of Britain’s leading sports business professors, Dr Simon Chadwick, from the Coventry University Business School, believes it is these three clubs that could prove to be the catalyst for a summer of spend, spend, spend.
“Potentially, I can see individual records being broken and the total spent by Premier League clubs being broken too,” But I don’t think it will be spent very widely. It will be highly skewed by two or three clubs and you are looking in particular at Man City and Chelsea. What is even more important, though, is what happens at Real Madrid. That will have a cascading effect on the rest of football - especially in Spain and in England, the two big leagues in Europe.”
A league of their own
Football agent Barry Silkman expects City to carry on spending money like it is no object throughout the summer.
“When you talk about Manchester City, a club with a massive amount of money, for them it’s of no consequence how much they spend. It’s irrelevant if the money they spend is ‘worth it’ too, because they will just pay whatever it takes to get the player they want. Other English clubs are going to really struggle to buy from the continent this summer because the pound is so poor against the Euro, but that won’t affect City in the slightest. They have a bottomless pit and they can go and get who they want without posturing. They need to as well because right now they are five or six world-class players short of competing near the top end of the table.”
Silkman expects the poor value of the pound to have a positive impact on the volume of transfers completed between English clubs this summer.
“This will be the biggest internal transfer window ever, no doubt about it,” he added. “There will be a lot more deals and much bigger ones than we’ve seen for a while too. The pound is struggling so much that clubs are finding it hard to even pay a player’s salary from abroad and so the established players from Europe we’ve seen coming over in the last few years might dry up.”
No record spending overall
However, it is not though that the massive spending that these three clubs are likely to embark upon will ‘trickle down’ throughout the rest of football. Dan Jones, the editor of Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, believes the record spent by English clubs in a summer transfer window - £530m in 2008 - is not going to be broken, he argues;
“I’d be surprised if it was broken. We’re expecting it to be busy, but possibly not record-breaking. Part of the reason for that is because there has been such a lot of activity in the last couple of windows - though you have to be careful of the Man City, Chelsea and Real Madrid factor. They could kickstart something like Roman Abramovich did when he first arrived at Chelsea six years ago, we have seen it happen before. I stand to be corrected by the end of August, but I don’t think there will be more spent than last year. Probably not far off the same, but not more than.”
The trap
The problem is that as these super rich clubs spend a fortune on the best players their rivals are forced to try and compete and this is where the financial over-extension occurs - ultimately a football club exists to win trophies and supporters, particularly of the top clubs demand this, so owners and directors are forced to some extent to try and compete financially. This model has worked so far for Manchester United who are more than capable of dropping £30m on individual players, but, despite their success, there are worries over how long such a model is sustainable in the current economic climate. United have a ‘get-out’ in Cristiano Ronaldo whose transfer would raise a tremendous amount of money, but at the cost of weakening the Old Trafford giants whilst strengthening one of their European rivals.
Finally…
What happens this summer will be dependent on the whims of a few hideously rich men whose involvement in football is questionable and who are leading clubs, and the game itself, on a road to financial ruin.
Real Madrid may succeed in signing Superstar player Kaka from AC Milan to their club, and despite the astronomical sum of money that will be involved in this transfer Los Blancos are still keen to grab the signature of Cristiano Ronaldo.
This is a deal that could implicate up to € 120 million, considering the transfer fee, the player’s wages, and the agent’s commission. However, Florentino Perez is ready to splash a lot of cash to get the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I have said Ronaldo does interest us. We have to resolve this and the other big signings in the month of June.
“In Spain there are get-out clauses. In many cases that eliminates negotiations.
“It seems in the case of Ronaldo he does have a get-out clause and it means if the player brings the money stipulated in the clause he can go.
“It’s what I’ve been told, I’ve not seen it.”
It may well happen that Cristiano Ronaldo joins Real Madrid despite the player’s previous statements of commitment to Manchester United. Aside from the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo revealed his uncertainty over his Manchester United future after the European final, Real Madrid’s hunt will be hotter than ever as speculations explain that the Spanish Giants could lose up to € 30 million should they decide to break the secret agreement that they have wit Ronaldo.
Will Ronaldo join Real Madrid? Is he going to remain another season at Manchester United? The future has a lot to tell. Now with AC Milan’s Brazilian Star Kaka probably leaving the San Siro, Silvio Berlusconi has hinted at his desire to see Cristiano Ronaldo in the club’s red and black jersey.
Underlining the rumors revealing his dream move for Cristiano Ronaldo, Berlusconi told Studio Sport stated:
“Cristiano Ronaldo? I whispered in his ear and told him that I would like to see him play in Rossoneri colours, and he smiled at me,”
“Who wouldn’t he want to come to a club like Milan?”
It’s up to Ronaldo to decide on his future, as recent reports explain that Ferguson is ready to sell his ace for a fee of £ 75 million.
Things aren’t looking to good with the Portuguese who displayed some poor football on Saturday evening. But what matters most is the result, which went in Portugal’s favor.
A Seleccao went ahead before half an hour only for the Albanians to equalize two minutes later. The game seemed to finish all square between Albania and Portugal until Bruno Alves headed in a 93 minute winner to stun the hosts and save Portugal from drawing for the fourth time in the qualifiers.
Portugal are third in the table and seven points behind leaders Denmark. It will be very hard for Portugal to clinch the first spot for an automatic qualification while qualifying for the play-offs won’t guarantee them a place in South Africa 2010. However, Saturday’s match winner Bruno Alves is confident about Portugal’s success, despite the team’s struggles.
“It was hard to win - Albania are an organized team, they defended with the whole team behind the line of the ball,” he said after the game.
“I believed in us until the end, we all believed in the coach’s work and we will work hard to get more in the future, because this result gives hope and desire to work.”
Portugal play against Estonia in a friendly game on June 10.
Florentino Perez doesn't intend for Real Madrid's summer spending to end with the capture of AC Milan star Kaka.
Marca says Perez is determined to bring the biggest names available to Madrid before the start of the season and also has Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), David Villa (Valencia), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich), David Silva (Valencia) and Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) on his shopping list.
A potential starting XI for Manuel Pellegrini could be:
The suggestion came about during an interview with the club's new vice-president, Fernando Tapias, who said Real will be hit by a penalty clause in the alledged 'pre-contract' arranged between former leader Ramon Calderon and Ronaldo's representative Jorge Mendes.
According to the Independent, Spanish radio station Cadena COPE asked Tapias if there was any truth in suggestions that Real would be forced to pay out if they failed to sign the Portuguese winger.
Tapias responded: "Yes...but that is not our fault. Ronaldo is a great player. I remember when I was last at the club and [Luis] Figo was here telling people about him.
"He is one of the best players in the world.
"That he has a special character and that the price is exorbitant is also true. Maybe Fifa should put a €50 million price cap on transfers."
Re-appointed president Florentino Perez has made no secret of his intentions to sign the world's biggest names this summer in a bid to see Real return to its Galacticos era, and Ronaldo has always been at the forefront of his plans.
In spite of the supposed £26 million penalty they face if a deal for Ronaldo falls through, Perez is confident negotiations will come to a successful conclusion by the end of this month.
With Kaka's move from AC Milan to the Spanish capital already said to be a done deal, when asked of the rest of his summer intentions, Perez said: "The best players in the world, the ones that have won the Fifa World Player of the Year award are Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo - they are the players Real Madrid fans demand.
"We have to will to complete the transfer of Kaka, we are not nervous and I hope in a few days we will happily announce the deal.
"I have said Ronaldo does interest us. We have to resolve this and the other big signings in this month of June. In pain there are get out clauses. In many cases that eliminates negotiations.
"It seems in the case of Ronaldo he does have a get-out clause and it means if the player brings the money stipulated in the clause he can go."
Perez is also understood to have his eye on Franck Ribery and David Villa.
Florentino Perez is a conjuror. The president of Real Madrid, who vanished from the job when the going got tough, reappeared in charge of the club six days ago. Quite an apparition it was, too. In a flash, all other possible candidates for the post stood aside and Perez waltzed back into the post without so much as a ballot form being printed.
That was when he started talking like the magician of old. Anybody who followed Real Madrid during the so-called Galactico Era, between 2000 and 2006, when Perez last held the presidency and collected superstars like stamps, instantly recognised his spiel, his mysterious axioms. “The costliest players are often the cheapest,” he said through his thin-lipped smile, preparing to break the world record for a transfer fee by signing Kaka from Milan. The Kaka deal, at a fee of about £58m, will be announced officially in the next two days. It is, Perez beams, the first of several eye-catching recruitments he plans for the summer.
Real Madrid's pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo will be conducted with the utmost professionalism according to Florentino Perez.
The recently installed Madrid president is in the midst of reviving the galactico era at the Bernabeu, and with the arrival of Kaka virtually guaranteed, Perez has now turned his attention to Manchester United's prized asset - just as Madrid did last summer.
However, unlike that previous transfer saga - a long and protracted tale of claims, counterclaims and downright bitterness - the Madrid supremo is adamant that things will be done the right way this time around as they attempt to secure the services of player who has a £80 million buyout clause in his United contract.
"From what I hear, there is an agreement between the player and his club," Perez told The Times newspaper.
"If one day there is a chance of him playing for Real Madrid, that would be an honour for us.
"But if I had to choose between the friendship with Manchester United and the signing of Ronaldo, I would choose the friendship.
"Plus, I have never said that Cristiano will arrive in June. That is an arrogant and false statement.
"Cristiano is, of course, a player we are interested in, he is one of the best in the world."
Not that Perez is intending to stop with Ronaldo.
Bayern Munich ace Franck Ribery, Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso and Valencia favourite David Villa are also on his radar, although Perez is determined to make friends throughout all of Real's transfer negotiations over the coming weeks.
"I shall be talking with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, and their chief executive David Gill to build bridges," he said.
"If we sign Kaka from Milan, I can assure you that we will still have a very good relationship with their general manager Adriano Galliani.
"Of course, we want the best players to join us here - but only if their club wants to sell them. Ask Gill, David Dein and Roman Abramovich.
"I have an excellent relationship with them and it is essential to me that continues. I represent a club where elegance and gentlemanliness has been always our flag.
"Ronaldo or whoever will come if their club wants to sell. To force through a situation is very bad for our image. If someone has acted in that way at some point, I offer my apologies and can assure you that it will not happen again."
"I am not a betting man, but whatever happens I will still leave friends in Manchester."
Bruno Alves scored an injury-time goal Saturday to give Portugal a 2-1 win at Albania to revive its hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
The defender jumped to connect with a deep cross from Raul Meireles Alves and head past goalkeeper Isli Hidi in the third minute of stoppage time.
Portugal, which was coming off three straight scoreless draws, is now third with nine points in Group 1 - seven behind Denmark and four back from Hungary.
Portugal led 1-0 in the 27th when Jose Bosingwa's cross eluded three Albanians and gave Hugo Almeida a free header.
Albania, playing its first match under new Croatian coach Josip Kuze, equalized two minutes later through Erjon Bogdani's header from a cross by Ervin Skela.
"Albania played well and deserved a draw but that's football - played to the last minute," Bogdani said.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo failed to really threaten despite playing at centre forward most of the second half. He came closest in the 55th, with a free kick that was saved by Hidi.
"It was bad to suffer a last-minute goal after a good play against an excellent team," Kuze said.
