Ok so a blog about a footy player is a wee bit left field from the normal blogs but it's the Champions League final next week so...

What the hell is going on with Cristiano Ronaldo??? One week he's talking about how happy he is at Man Utd:

"I just don't care what the whole world seems to want to say about me or speculate about my future.
"I've said it a thousand times and, by now, people should realise . . . I'm totally happy at United.

The next week he's apparently saying that he's not sure whether or not he will stay after the Champions League final:

"I'm very happy here but let's see after the Champions League final what happens,"
He added: "I've said a million times I'd like to play in Spain but dreaming is one thing, reality is another. I don't know."

So was this lost in translation? Was it the Spanish media trying to spark more controversy? Or is Ronaldo truly a football slut? I would love to believe that this is all nonsense but if it is why have the rumours been going on for so long?

The player should just shut his mouth and let his feet do the talking on the pitch. There is no doubt that he has had a fantastic season but can anyone truly remember a night when he dominated against a big team? I certainly cannot. He has never played well against Chelsea or Arsenal in the premiership. He was nowhere to be seen against AC Milan in 2005 and when Utd met AC Milan again in 2007 everyone expected to see a more mature talented Ronaldo on show. Did it happen? No it didn't. For a second time against AC he was rubbish and Kaka tore Utd apart!

He keeps talking about the world player of the year award but again this season against the big opposition - Barcelona - he was nowhere to be seen. Messi was like a Fifa PS3 player, the ball stuck to him like glue and he showed that against big opposition he could play. That is the mark of a truly great player. Players like Pele, Maradona, Zidane, Best, the other Ronaldo and Kaka have all dominated against the big teams in the big tournaments like the World Cup or the Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo has not. No offence to Birmingham or Fulham etc but dominating against teams like that is nothing like dominating the play against AC Milan or Barcelona.

The timing of the speculation could not be worse, with the Champions League final coming up next week, it will probably not affect Ronaldo as he wants to win the Champions League for individual glory but how are the fans supposed to back him and sing the "Viva Ronaldo.." song having heard him say that he's not sure where he'll be next season? Maybe it was lost in translation as Ronaldo does not speak Spanish but the last two Utd players with which the Real Madrid rumours just wouldn't go away were Beckham and Van Nistelrooy. We all know what happened with them...

There is no doubt he has a fantastic talent, some of the goals he has scored this season have been out of this world:

but it's about time he stopped flirting with Real Madrid and dominated on the big stage with Man Utd. Any time he has played against Ashley Cole, Cole has had him in his pocket. Next week in the Champion's league final is his chance to prove the doubters wrong and truly stake a claim for the World Player of the Year award. He has the potential to be a Utd legend but I'm not sure he's going to be around long enough to achieve that. I'll leave you with a quote from his mum:

“I don’t like English teams but I know I have to like them because he [Ronaldo] is at Manchester.

“But for me... Real Madrid. Of all the foreign clubs, Real Madrid is the best. Before I die I would like him [Ronaldo] to play for Real Madrid. I would really like that and then I could die, it wouldn’t matter.”

Gareth O' Neill

Update 4/06/07 - He may have played well in the Champions League final scoring Utd's only goal and proving that Essien is not a right back but he still missed a penalty and there is no chance of him being remembered as an Old Trafford legend if he leaves this summer at only 23 years old.