Cristiano Ronaldo Does Himself No Favours

Cristiano Ronaldo has been recently been dubbed as the greatest player in the world at the tender age of 23. Former footballing hero Johan Cruyff said in an April 2, 2008 interview, "Ronaldo is better than George Best and Denis Law, two United legends. So, he must be on top of the world surely? Well not quite; Ronaldo has caused uproar by agreeing with the President of FIFA's remarks that he is a modern slave due to United's reluctance to let him move away from Old Trafford. Always a figure of either love or hate, Ronaldo is in for a rough ride from the press and public, and deservedly so.

Ronaldo arrived in Manchester in 2004, for a high-risk fee of £12.24million. The pressure soon increased as he was handed the no. 7 shirt worn by the likes of Cantona, and recent departure the iconic Beckham. He made an impact quickly and his football progressed impressively.

His popularity with the English public was all but destroyed after the 2006 World Cup when he played a somewhat nasty part in teammate Rooney's sending off which led to England's departure for the tournament. The public was infuriated by the Portuguese international who struck back by increasing his form. Meanwhile United and its fans showed loyal support of Ronaldo.

Last season Cristiano Ronaldo fully blossomed and became the most highly regarded footballer in the world entertaining football fans across the country with his silky skills, culminating in a Champion's League final goal and medal. The gamble Alex Ferguson and the Club took in Ronaldo was being repaid as Ronaldo developed through the support of his club.

It came as a shock to most Man United fans when he declared that Real Madrid would be a dream club to him and looked set to snub the so-called "Theatre of Dreams" for the Bernabeu. Despite the support United have showed him over the years he complained bitterly when United rejected all of Madrid's approaches.

Sepp Blatter then enraged the footballing community by saying that he felt that Cristiano Ronaldo was a type of "modern slave" despite being paid £115,000 a week. However, what makes Ronaldo's so far naiive handling of the affair is his agreement with Blatter's sentiment; it is clearly not enough for him to play for one of the greatest clubs in the world and earn almost £6million a year. Ronaldo has firmly put himself back in football punters black books after his infuriating, arrogant and downright disgusting comment. I sympathise that it was the boy's dream to play for Real Madrid, but the very least a club should expect when he has four years left on his mega contract would be to bide his time for an acceptable bid to come in rather than turn his back on the club that he was nothing before he joined.

Despite, his unserpassable ability to entertain, it may be good riddance to not very nice brilliance when Ronaldo finally makes his way across the continent. As a footballer lover, I am dissapointed to see such a brilliant footballer be let down by his arrogant character and ill-advised public comments.