Just outside the shot: at least 5 hookers.

Ronaldo GP G A
07/08 46 42 9
08/09 28 16 19

His 86 points scored over 74 games equals 1.16 points per game.

Messi GP G A
07/08 33 16 26
08/09 15 12 27

His 81 points scored over 48 games equals 1.69 points per game.

Just for fun let’s throw Torres in there…

Torres GP G A
07/08 41 30 4
08/09 22 9 9

His 52 points scored over 63 games equals 0.81 points per game.

Now let’s look at some positives and negatives for each player:

Ronaldo
+ Scored 42 goals last season.
+ Won the Champion’s League.
+ Won almost every other award you can think of last year.
+ Manchester United finished first in the Premier League in 07/08.
- Manchester United is in danger of falling out of title contention in 08/09.
- Disappeared at Euro 2008.
- Not a great personal start to the 08/09 season.

Messi
+ Scores a half a point per game more than Ronaldo.
+ Great “team” player.
+ Won gold at the 2008 Olympics.
+ Barcelona is in first place in La Liga in 08/09.
- Barcelona finished third in La Liga in 07/08.
- Barcelona lost to Manchester United in the Champion’s League semi-finals.
- No hardware last year.

Torres
+ Instantly made an impact in the Premier League.
+ All 30 of his goals in 07/08 were scored during open play.
+ Won Euro 2008 with Spain, scored deciding goal in the final.
+ Liverpool is tied for first place in the Premier League in 08/09.
- Liverpool finished fourth last season.
- Liverpool lost to Chelsea in the Champion’s League semi-finals.
- No hardware last year.

So after thinking about each player’s accomplishments last season, I realized that all three of them won a competition involving multiple countries, and each of them also stood out in separate ways individually. Ronaldo had an incredible goal haul, Messi surely assisted every goal scored for Barcelona that was not scored BY him, and Torres outdid everyone’s expectations for his first year during the run of play alone.

Back to the point of this post… who do YOU think deserves it the most?

According to the always reliable Sun:

“Ronaldo’s ripped body, slicked-back hair, shiny white teeth and jewellery swung the votes his way.

“He looks like any gay man or woman’s dream.

“What with being Footballer of the Year, scoring 42 goals last season and former girlfriends saying he is talented off the pitch, he seems to have everything going for him.”

Ronny ‘beat out’ Kylie Minogue, Judy Garland, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, The Village People, David Beckham, George Michael, John Barrowman, and Paul O’Grady in that order.

Somehow I don’t think this will be Ronaldo’s personal favorite award… but you never know, maybe it is.

A £340,000 Rolls Royce Phantom covertible.

He also supposedly asked for nearly all of the special add ons (rims, televisions, condoms/hair gel dispensers, etc) which would put the price tag around the £400,000 range.

A source told The Sun:

‘The car will be the flashiest at United’s training ground,’

‘He loves his cars and wanted something new for the start of the season.’

And by ‘cars’ they mean an Aston Martin, a BMW 6 series, a Ferrari, and the Bentley.

Yes he’s still on crutches.
Yes he’s still an unnatural shade of red.
No he hasn’t ‘made up his mind’ where he’d like to play yet.

That said, since we have some time and nothing newsworthy to fill it with, let’s just take a look at some of Ronaldo’s ex-boobs girlfriends:

1. Keeley Hazell

2. Gemma Atkinson

3. Merche Romero

4. Bipasha Basu

5. Jordana Jardel

6. Nereida Gallardo

7. Niki Ghazian

Now keep in mind that there are quite possibly thousands of random, non famous girls and hookers women paid for their time and company only sprinkled throughout the big 7.

It does seem as though he’s not setting his sights as high as he was a few years ago though…

That said, let’s check out some of the more recent Ronaldo news. Besides the usual Madrid speculation of course…

El Nino’s two cents.

A new house in Spain?

Ronaldo looks like he’s enjoying his vacation

And lastly…

I might be reading too much into this, but if you had or planned on having the world’s greatest footballer on your team next year, wouldn’t you want him repping your hideous new kit?

Back to unpacking…

Just about every football news source is running the story in one form or another but we’ll go with Soccernet.

“

Terra claim to have carried out an exclusive interview with the Portugal international in which he said: ‘I would like to play for Real Madrid but only if it is true they are ready to pay what Manchester United ask of them.

‘However, it does not depend on me.’

The interview continued with Ronaldo stating his hope that the announcement would bring closure to the speculation linking him with a possible move to the Bernabeu.

He added: ‘From today I’m not going to talk about this topic with anyone at all.

‘I’ll only talk about this again after the European Championships. Don’t ask me any questions because I won’t answer.’

”
Sir Alex Ferguson had planned on visiting Portugal’s Euro 2008 training ground to convince Ronaldo to stay, but apparently Red Jesus ended that before it could begin.

“

Cristiano Ronaldo’s faltering relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson appeared to deteriorate further yesterday when the Portugal winger effectively banned the Manchester United manager from visiting their European Championship training camp. In an embarrassing snub, Ronaldo has told team-mates that Ferguson is not welcome in Switzerland, bringing a premature end to proposals for peace talks that surfaced in the light of his continued flirtation with Real Madrid.

Ferguson had reservations about travelling to the university town of Neuchâtel in any case, with the United manager reluctant to show his concern at Real’s interest and uneasy about intruding into the sphere of Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Portugal coach, but Ronaldo’s stance has brought an end to the matter.

The 23-year-old’s intransigence springs from anger at Ferguson’s comments last weekend that the Glazer family would rather see him sit in the stands than sell him to Real, which he believes were disrespectful. Ronaldo is understood to be furious at this perceived slight, but Ferguson was merely responding to the player’s frequent expressions of admiration for Real.

”
If Ferguson isn’t angry enough about all of this, ex United/current Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy gave his 2 cents about all this drama.

“

He’d be an important signing for Madrid because this is a club which signs the best players in the world, and that’s what Cristiano is,” Van Nistelrooy said. “Cristiano could bring a lot of things to this club. He’s young and has everything. For Madrid he would be a great signing.

”

This just keeps getting better and better.

via ESPN Soccernet:
Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed he will make an announcement on his future plans in the next ‘two to three days’.

Ronaldo has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid in recent weeks although United are determined to hold on to their prize asset and have even threatened to report the Spanish champions to FIFA over what they claim are attempts to unsettle him.

The 23-year-old is hoping an announcement will end the speculation.

Speaking after Portugal’s 2-0 win over Georgia, Ronaldo told A Bola: ‘Let’s see, I hope there will be news soon. In two to three days I will announce my decision.’

If he decides his future lies away from Old Trafford, Ronaldo would have a fight on his hands to secure a transfer to the Bernabeu.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson on Sunday claimed the Glazer family, the club’s owners, would rather keep the player even if a hypothetical situation arose where he refused to play for the Red Devils.

The Scot said: ‘I’ve had a couple of meetings with the Glazers.

‘Their attitude is, ‘to hell with them’. They’d sit a player in the stand, I’m telling you, absolutely no doubt about it, just to prove a point. Not to give in to these people.

‘They’ve got balls, I can tell you. I’ve been delighted with them in that respect.’

The Glazers took over United in an £800million deal in the summer of 2005. Their arrival caused huge ructions among fans due to the debt they placed on the club.

Ferguson, however, has been delighted with the support of the Americans since their regime began.

‘They’ve been good to this club, believe me,’ he added. ‘They have been brilliant owners.’

‘We’ve spoken a lot, as for him I’m more than an older friend, and I’ve given him some advice.

‘For me football is not about memories but chances, which sometimes don’t present themselves again.

‘Regardless of the decision he makes about his future we’re here to support him.’

Via Soccernet.

When she’s not busy being a wild animal in bed (NSFW-ish) or telling everyone she’s going to be Mrs. Ronaldo via MSN chats, Nereida Gallardo apparently also likes to host impromptu photoshoots in public restrooms. From The Sun:

A source close to Spanish model Nereida said: “She was playing along for the camera — but I’m sure she’d be happy to re-create the scenes for Cristiano.

“She’d probably let him watch. That’s the sort of great party girl she is.

“She turns heads wherever she goes — she oozes sexuality.”

Nereida, who pals reckon could become Mrs Ronaldo, has been pictured topless several times but these are her hottest snaps to date.

Ronaldo, 23, met her in Palma four months ago and the pair have become inseparable.

She is often at his £4million home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, and the Portuguese hot-shot now blows her kisses in the stands whenever he scores.

The source added: “Ronnie is renowned for blowing kisses. Maybe this is her way of returning the compliment.

“Nereida is Ronnie’s first serious girlfriend since he came to England. You’ve got to say he’s a very lucky fella — she’s top drawer.”

Uncensored shots and full story here (NSFW)

And just to keep it fair, ladies (and avid reader Bob) can check out Ronaldo training for Euro 2008 with Portugal.